


A new family?

by Ph0enixFlame



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, mcyt - Freeform, sbi, sleepy bois inc- freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:53:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 29,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28046502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ph0enixFlame/pseuds/Ph0enixFlame
Summary: This is a Sleepy Bois+ Tubbo family/adoption au that I decided to write because why not? Tommy and Tubbo are twins, Philza is the dad, Techno the oldest and Wilbur is the middle child (technically) So yeah, read if you want to, idk.This is just a fanfic, I don't own any of the characters, just the story, etc etc. I'll take it down if any of the cc's have a problem with it. There will be no smut, or anything of the sort. This is just a family au that I wanted to write.I hope you enjoy!:)
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 26
Kudos: 264





	1. A brand new family?

If there was one thing that Tommy knew, it was that the foster system fucking sucked. He wouldn't care that much if it just affected him, and only him. He cared because his twin brother Tubbo was stuck here too, and Tubbo was one of the few things that Tommy actually cared about. (Not that he'd say that to his face, of course).  
They were both turning 14 soon, and the older they got, they knew it would be less likely for them to be adopted, after all, who wants to adopt two teenage boys?

The two had been on a constant move from one bad foster home to another, and they hadn't lasted for longer than a month in any of them. Tommy hoped that someone good would adopt Tubbo, he didn't care for himself, so long as Tubbo was safe.   
He looked over at Tubbo's single bed, pushed up against the wall on the opposite side of the room. Watching his brother's chest slowly rise and fall, Tommy soon got lost in his thoughts, all he wanted was for Tubbo to be happy, was that too much to ask?

Tommy winced at the sudden bright light that shone through the curtains that were only half covering his window. Sunrise? Already!? Squinting at the digital clock that sat on his nightstand, he read the time, "4:55 am, great" he muttered, his left hand massaging his temple, already cursing himself for staying up all night. 

He glanced one more time towards Tubbo, making sure he was still okay, before burying himself in his duvet and forcefully shutting his eyes. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, he has restless nights more often than not, constantly terrified of the painful memories that always seem to seek him out at the times when he had no control over them. 

A single tear leaked out from one of his squinted eyes and slowly rolled down his cheek, his breathing hitched as he tried to keep his emotions under control. Deep breaths, in and out. Inhale and exhale. He let out a shaky breath before his heart rate finally calmed down. He kept his eyes closed and his head under the covers, waiting for Tubbo to stir before he moved again.

He waited in silence for the next three hours, listening to nothing but the sound of his own breathing and Tubbo's soft snores. Eventually, after another 5 minutes or so had passed, he heard Tubbo stir from the other side of the room. Lifting the duvet from above his head, he peered over to his brother's bed, eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness of the room.

Tubbo was sat cross-legged on his bed, gazing out of the window and seemingly lost in thought. He noticed Tommy staring at him and smiled slightly as they made eye contact. "Morning Tom-tom" he whispered slightly, yawning in the middle of his sentence.  
Tommy suppressed a laugh, he didn't want to wake their care-takers, or the rest of the kids in the orphanage either. "Morning Tubbo, how'd you sleep?" He questioned, voice quiet as he raised an eyebrow.  
"Good, good, did you- did you get any sleep Tommy?" Tubbo replied, curious eyes waiting for a response from the older twin.  
"Uh, yeah- I slept a little Tubbo, don't worry yourself about me" He said with a small grin plastered across his face.

Tubbo sighed, he didn't like being lied to, he didn't need to be protected, but if Tommy said he was fine then Tubbo would respect that he doesn't want to be pushed on the topic. He knew his brother best.  
Still, he gave Tommy a slight smile, before jumping instinctively at the shouting that emerged from beyond their bedroom door.  
"BOYS! GET UP NOW, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE THAT YOU'LL BE MEETING IN AN HOUR OR SO!" The female voice shouted. 

Tubbo breathed out a sigh of relief as he relaxed his suddenly tense muscles, glancing at Tommy as he did so. At the sound of shouting Tommy had jumped out of his bed and was standing protectively next to Tubbo's nightstand. "It's okay Tom-Tom, it was just Janice." Tubbo said, calming Tommy down as they looked at one another and shared a slight smile. 

"Right yeah, sorry" Tommy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Janice was one of their care takers at the orphanage, she wasn't the best, but then again they've had worse, so the boys didn't mind her too much.

Walking to the other side of the room, Tommy opened the wardrobe and rummaged through the little amount of clothing that they both had.  
"Who do you think she wants us to meet" Tubbo wondered aloud as Tommy pulled out two pairs of jeans. 

"I dunno, some dumb potential foster family or some shit probably", replied Tommy, rolling his eyes as he did so.  
"Oh" Was the small response that Tommy got, he briefly looked over his shoulder to see a small frown on Tubbo's face.  
Sighing softly, Tommy turned back to the wardrobe and pulled out a green button-up for Tubbo and a red and white t-shirt for himself.

Walking back over to Tubbo, he handed the black jeans and green button-up to him, giving him a soft smile as a form of apology.  
Tubbo gratefully took the clothes and walked into the bathroom to get changed, shutting the door behind him. Tommy stayed in their bedroom and took a deep breath before getting into his clothes for today. 

Minutes later, the lock on the bathroom door opened and Tubbo walked out to let Tommy brush his teeth, choosing instead to get his backpack ready in case it was needed for today.  
Tommy brushed his teeth and looked at himself in the mirror afterwards. He grimaced as he ran his hands through his short blond hair, "it'll have to do I guess" he says before walking out of the bathroom.

Tubbo was stood in the centre of their shared bedroom, a slight frown displayed across his soft features. Their bedroom was sparse and barely decorated, the walls a plain cream colour and the two beds were both the same, uninteresting style. They couldn't decorate if they had nothing to decorate with, even then, they'd be moving soon, they always are. Nobody ever wants the two boys enough for them to stay.

Tommy walked over to Tubbo and held his arms out towards him, with watery eyes Tubbo responded by throwing his arms around Tommy and holding on tight. The brothers stayed there, holding on to each other for what seemed like forever, yet it only lasted a few minutes before they regretfully had to break away from each other and go and get some breakfast. 

Tommy sighed as he felt Tubbo leave his grasp, he ruffled the younger boy's hair and gave him a supportive smile, "C'mon Tubbo, let's go"  
All he got was a small nod in response, and the two boys walked together out of their bedroom door, through the hallway and down the stairs. They knew that they were safe here, but that didn't stop Tommy from keeping Tubbo shielded behind him, he didn't want to be caught off guard just because he thinks it's safe, not again.

They walked into the dining room and sat down at the table, Janice looked up as they walked in. Her soft, honey-coloured eyes watching them as they sat down. Her long, brown hair pulled up into a neat bun and a pleasant smile was stretched across her face. "Good morning boys, here's your breakfast!" She cheerily announced, handing them both a plate of butter on toast.

The boys nibbled slightly on the food, they weren't hungry, and the anxiety for who they were meeting was running through their bodies. Both of them knew they couldn't stomach food. Not when they had to be on their 'best behaviour' in front of a complete stranger.  
"Now, boys. A man called Philza will be here to meet with you two in around 15 minutes, I want you both to be sensible and nice, okay? This is a good opportunity for you both, at least give him a chance, okay?" Janice received two nods in response and she turned away, going back to the breakfast she was making for the rest of those in the orphanage. 

The two boys got up from their seats and headed into the office together to wait for the stranger to arrive. They greeted Katherine, (the owner of the orphanage) as she indicated for them both to sit down on the chairs that were placed opposite her, with perfect view of her desk, the window and the front door. The boys sat down and waited in silence, staring at the clock that was across from them. Slowly ticking away on the far wall.

The front door opened, and the boys both looked in that direction, seeing a tall man quickly walk past the office window and turn the corner. Tommy shared a glance with Tubbo, excitement and worry on both of their features. This was either going to go well, or it would be a disaster. Knowing them, it would probably be the latter.

A tall, blond man stood in the doorway of the office. A green and white striped bucket hat placed upon his head. His amber eyes smiling along with the rest of his features. Katherine got up from her desk and greeted him, shaking his hand and sharing a polite nod and a few words that were too quiet for either of the boys to hear. The man nodded back in response, smile still on his face as he walked over to the boys.

Tommy and Tubbo stood up quickly. Tommy instinctively standing slightly in front of Tubbo. The man noticed this and stopped just before he got too close to them, he stayed a safe distance away. 

The man held out his hand and gave the boys a soft, supportive smile, "Hi, I'm Phil or Philza, whichever one you boys prefer."  
Tommy glanced at Tubbo and they both shared a silent conversation. Tommy stepped forward and accepted Philza's handshake. "I'm Tommy, this is my brother Tubbo" He said, Tubbo giving a slight wave from behind his brother.  
"Well, it's nice to meet you guys, you both packed up and ready to go?" Phil asked, glancing from one boy to the other.

"It's all upstairs" Tubbo replied in a quiet voice. "We'll go and get it now".  
"Okay" came Philza's response, stepping aside to let both of the boys go upstairs to get their stuff.

Tommy and Tubbo both calmly walked out of the office before running upstairs and into their room. Grabbing their pre-packed bags they shared another silent conversation. Checking on each other to make sure they were both okay with what was happening. Together, they walked back down the stairs and met back up with Philza. 

"We're ready " Tommy said as they reached the bottom of the staircase. "Good" Phil replied, giving each of them a polite nod. "Let's go then" He said, throwing his keys up in the air and catching them again. He started walking out of the door before turning back to the boys, making sure they were following. He gave them a large grin, "let's go home". 

The brothers shared a smile with each other when Phil had turned away again. "C'mon Tubbo" Tommy said, gripping Tubbo's hand tight as they walked outside together. "Let's do this."


	2. “Home”

Following Philza down the driveway, Tubbo had a jump in his step and a large, toothy grin spreading across his face, eyes sparkling with joy. Tommy wish he could feel the same, it wasn't that he didn't like Phil, it wasn't anything of the sort. Everything just seemed too good to be true. Tommy knew that this would probably be their last chance for being adopted, he can't fuck this up, not now. He needed Tubbo to be safe.

They reached the end of the driveway and crossed the road over to Philza's car. It was a standard, black family car. Not overly expensive but still cost quite a lot by the looks of it. Phil opened the back door for the boys and then got in the drivers seat. Tommy and Tubbo both glanced at each other and took a deep breath before removing their backpacks off of their shoulders and placing them on the backseat of the car. They then climbed into the backseat themselves and Philza turned the key in the ignition. 

"It's not that long of a drive, we'll be there in around thirty minutes or so" Phil stated, glancing at the boys in the rear view mirror, receiving a nod from Tubbo in response he flicked on a random radio channel and began to drive.

Tommy stared out of the window. Lost in thought. His hand was still intertwined with Tubbo's. Tubbo himself squeezing it every now and again for reassurance. This has got to be it, right? Tommy thought. This is the last chance they have, he can't mess this up for Tubbo. He wouldn't be able to live with himself, Tubbo doesn't deserve the life that they've been living. If you could even call it living... Tommy couldn't fuck this up, not this time, for Tubbo.

Tubbo gripped his hand tighter, causing Tommy to glance over at him. Tubbo was looking at him with worried eyes and concern across his features, Tommy nodded and smiled slightly at the silent question of "are you okay" from Tubbo. Tommy took a deep breath before plastering a smile across his face and putting an arm around Tubbo, humming quietly to the shitty pop song that was playing on the radio. Everything turns out okay in the end, so long as Tubbo is happy, that's all that matters.

After a few minutes of Tommy humming songs and Tubbo almost falling asleep once or twice whilst curled up against his brothers chest, a soft voice finally broke the near- comfortable silence that had been created in the car.

"We're here boys" Phil calmly stated, grinning at the two before opening his door and walking around the car to open the boy's car door too. Tommy and Tubbo shared a look before getting out of the car. Simultaneously slinging their bags over their shoulders, Tommy closed the car door and turned around, looking at the house in front of them.

They were in a pretty nice neighbourhood, big houses and expensive-ish cars. Beautiful gardens with brightly coloured flowers and neatly cut grass. It was gorgeous, even Tommy could admit that, and he wasn't exactly happy with this current situation. He grasped Tubbo's hand once more as they followed Phil up the path to one of the smaller, but more homely looking houses. Phil unlocked the front door and opened it, wiping his shoes as he stepped inside. 

"Welcome, boys. To what I hope is your new home!" Phil clapped his hands together as he grinned at the lads. "You'll be meeting Techno and Will soon, they're at school at the moment." Tommy smiled politely in response as he hesitantly stepped into the household, pulling Tubbo in behind him. 

Phil walked in and headed straight into the lounge, a large flatscreen tv was perched on the wall, a comfy looking sofa directly across from it, with a coffee table placed in between them. Phil headed towards the stairs and gestured for the boys to follow, they complied, Tommy still extra cautious about being in Philza's home. They walked up the stairs and Phil turned back towards them both. 

"Do you guys want to share a room or have one each?" He asked, glancing back and forth between the boys.

"Share" Tommy and Tubbo said at the same time, they weren't being separated. No way.

"Okay" Phil nodded with understanding and smiled slightly. Phil showed the boys around upstairs, pointing at the first door on his left, which was a bathroom. The door across from the bathroom was Techno's room. The second door on the left was Wilbur's bedroom, and the second door on the right was Phil's room. Tommy and Tubbo were going to share the room across from Phil, they had their own en suite in there, and there was another bathroom further down the hall, past the spare bedroom.

They opened the door to their bedroom, two double beds, both in the back corners of the room, a large window that faced out into the back garden which led to a forest beyond. There was a soft, fur rug in between the two beds and a clock that was hung up against the wall, but other than that, the room was plain and undecorated. "I know it's not very homely right now, but we'll go shopping tomorrow or something, if you'd like" Phil smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, that sounds okay" Tommy replied, giving him an appreciative smile. 

"Alright! I'll leave you to it then! It's only 2pm now, so I'll let you guys chill here, if you want to come down then you can, but if not, I'll call you boys down for dinner at 6, Aight?" 

Phil waited for the boys to agree before closing their bedroom door and heading back downstairs. He had a good feeling about those too, and he genuinely cared for them, he hoped that they would both realise that.

Back in their new shared bedroom, Tommy slung his bag off of his shoulder and dropped it on the ground, moving towards the double bed on the far left side. Tubbo calmly placed down his backpack and walked over to the bed on the far right side, taking off his shoes he decided to sit cross-legged on the bed, his back against the wall. 

Tommy yawned and flung himself onto his bed, lifting his head up and grinning when he heard Tubbo giggle. "So, what do you think?" Tommy says, curious to know the younger boy's answer. 

"Well, to be honest I don't really know. He seems nice, but I'm nervous about meeting the other two" Tubbo replied, hands fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Me too Tubbo, me too. But whatever happens, we'll always have each other right? I'll always be there for you." Tommy held out his arms and gestured for Tubbo to come towards him. Tubbo jumped off his bed and climbed onto Tommy's, hugging him around his waist as if he was afraid to let go.

Tommy ran his fingers through Tubbo's hair, "We'll be fine, Big T! We'll get through this, I'm here for you" He said, holding tightly onto Tubbo.

"We're here for each other. I'm here for you too Tommy, please, don't think you have to handle everything on your own". Tubbo looked up at him with pained eyes.

"Okay. I promise I'll tell you if anything is wrong Tubbo, I love you Big T!" Tommy smiled down at Tubbo, the younger sighing in response as he buried his head in Tommy's chest.

"I love you too Tom-Tom" Tubbo muttered tiredly, before falling asleep to the sound of his brother's beating heart. Tommy sighed and leant back against his pillow, holding Tubbo against him. He grabbed a blanket with his other hand and gently placed it over them both. Protectively keeping Tubbo close to his chest in a tight embrace, Tommy closed his eyes and for the first time in a very, very long time, he drifted off into a calm, dreamless sleep.

A few hours later Tommy woke up to Tubbo shifting around on the bed. 

"Tubbo?" He questioned sleepily, glancing at the clock on the wall. 5pm, they'd be called down for dinner soon.

"Oh sorry Tommy, I wasn't trying to wake you up". Tubbo replied, voice soft with a sheepish smile on his face.

"It's okay Big T, don't worry. Wanna go downstairs now?" 

"Sure, why not!" Tubbo got out of the bed and dragged Tommy out with him, giggling when the older complained about getting up. "C'mon Tom-Tom, let's go already" Tubbo was smiling, joy expressed on all of his features. Well, now Tommy had to go with him. The nickname might seem stupid to some, and might seem childish for a 13 (almost 14) year old to be calling someone, but to Tommy, that name meant everything to him, and he'd do anything to protect his Tubbo.

So, he stopped complaining and grinned at Tubbo as they headed towards their bedroom door, ready to go downstairs. He was happy, and for the first time in a while, Tommy thought to himself that maybe, just maybe, life wasn't so bad after all?

The boys smiled at each other before opening the bedroom door and beginning to walk downstairs.


	3. Family dinner?

As they walked downstairs the boys could hear the faint laughing and chatter that was coming from the lounge area. Tubbo pulled on Tommy’s arm and gave him a worried look, receiving a smile of reassurance from the older brother, Tubbo hid behind Tommy as he opened the door.

The door opened quietly, and so none of the people inside the room noticed the boys stood in the doorway. The tv was on,  
but it was muted, showing some baking show with no sound. Two strange teenagers were sat on the large sofa, laughing with each other and seemingly having fun. The twins observed as one of the strangers threw a cushion at the other in what seemed to be a playful and friendly way. Sounds could be heard coming from the kitchen, so Tommy guessed that Phil must be in there.

Just as he thought that, the kitchen door opened and Tommy made eye contact with Phil. “Hi boys! You hungry?” He asked, noticing Tubbo stood behind Tommy and giving him a slight smile.

The laughing silenced immediately as both of the strangers on the sofa turned around to face the newcomers, smiles still on both of their faces. 

“Oh right! Wil, Techno, this is Tommy and Tubbo, the boys that I told you about” Phil said, interrupting the slightly awkward silence. The boy with the curly brown hair and maroon coloured beanie hopped off the couch and strolled over to the boys, a polite smile on his face.

“Hi, I’m Wilbur, and that asshole over there is Techno, he doesn’t speak much” Wilbur ducked as a cushion was thrown at his head from Techno, who was muttering insults towards will quietly.

Getting up, Techno sensibly walked around the couch to greet the two boys, “I’m Techno as you already know, and please just ignore this idiot, he’s an annoying prick” Techno shoved Wilbur slightly, both of them still having joking smiles on their faces.

“Right, uhh okay. Well I’m Tommy, I’m the oldest and this is my younger brother Tubbo.” Tommy said, not wanting another painfully awkward silence. 

“Hey! You’re only the oldest by like, one minute!” Tubbo protested, he wasn’t a baby!

“Still counts though!” Tommy laughed, grinning at Tubbo playfully. Tubbo just grumbled in annoyance before looking back towards Phil.

“What’re we having for dinner Phil?” Tubbo asked, feeling his stomach starting to get hungry.

“We’re just having spaghetti tonight boys, if that’s okay?” 

“Yeah that’s fine! Thankyou! Tubbo smiled.

“It’ll be ready in a few minutes, so you two can go and sit at the dining table. Techno, Will, stop fighting and set the table please” Phil said as he turned around to go back into the kitchen.

“Okay dad!” Wilbur shouted before dragging Techno with him to the table in another room, Techno muttering angrily under his breath.

Tubbo and Tommy glanced at each other and shrugged, they should probably follow the older teens. As Tommy started in the direction that the older boys went, he stopped and glanced back at Tubbo, who had tugged on the back of his shirt. 

“Hey, you okay Big T?” Tommy said, putting his arms around the shorter boy for a second.  
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just don’t like seeing so many strangers at once” Tubbo always had a fear of crowds of strangers and new people, he never felt comfortable and always stuck close to Tommy.

“Alright, you know I’m here for you, right?”

“Always, I know” Tubbo smiled with a newfound confidence “and I’m here for you too Tom-Tom” 

The boys smiled at each other. Tommy ruffling Tubbo’s hair as Tubbo tried to whack the taller boy’s hand away. Tommy giggling as he watched his brother cheer up. They both headed towards the dining room, where the table was set with a glass of water in each place and Wilbur was sat on one of the chairs, scrolling through his phone and nodding his head up and down. 

He had wireless headphones covering his ears, and was singing some song lyrics under his breath. He wore a mustard-yellow sweater with black ripped jeans, and he didn’t notice the two boys as they walked in.

Tommy sat across from Wilbur, Tubbo sitting next to his brother. Both of them whispering quietly to one another before Techno walked in from the kitchen, two plates in either of his hands. His long pink hair was tied up in one lengthy braid. He wore a white collard shirt and black pants, multiple piercings in both of his ears. 

“Hey, nerd. You could’ve been more help ya know!?” He said, glaring at Wilbur as he set the plates of food in front of the twins. 

“Does this pretty face look like it was meant for work, Techno?” Will smirked, removing his headphones so they hung around his neck and readjusting his beanie.

“You’re getting your own plate” Techno growled, before walking back into the kitchen.

Tommy and Tubbo looked at Wilbur as the conversation finished. Wilbur winked “Nah, I don’t think I will” he said, a cocky smile displayed across his face once more. Causing Tubbo to giggle at his antics, and Tommy responded with a roll of his eyes and a soft smile.

Seconds later, Techno walked back in the room with one more plate and set it down next to Wilbur, before sitting down in his seat and drinking some of his water. Phil walked in directly behind him with his own plate, sitting at the head of the table.

“Go get your own plate Will”. He said, Techno smirking as his dad told Will to stop being lazy.

“But dad!” Wilbur whined, a fake pout on his face.

“Nope, go get your own plate or you’re not eating Will, you’re 16, stop being such a lazy fucker.” Phil grinned mischievously, sharing a smile with Techno. 

“Fineeee.” Will grumbled as he got up and left the room, sticking his tongue out at Techno as the older brother laughed in response.

“Don’t mind him” Techno said to the twins, “he just thinks he’s too much of a princess for him to be forced to do anything” This caused the twins to erupt into a fit of giggles, Tommy clinging onto Tubbo as he nearly fell off his chair. Phil and Techno laughing along with them, Techno proud of the fact that he made them laugh.

Wilbur walked back into the room in a fake sulk, trying not to laugh or smile. “What are you laughing about now”. His fake sulk almost breaking as he spoke.

“Oh nothing, don’t worry yourself princess” Techno laughed. Causing the whole room to burst into a loud laughter once more, Tubbo falling off his chair because he was laughing so hard as Wilbur protested the fact that he wasn’t a princess. 

“Alright boys, calm down now, c’mon, your food’s getting cold” Phil said with a chuckle, watching Tubbo as he tried to regain some sense of composure. 

“Alright dad, sorry” Techno and Will both said, wide grins splitting their faces. Will sat down and joined the others at the table as they all began to dig into their food. The twins couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces during dinner. The family talked and talked about a lot of different topics, hobbies, dream jobs, etc. 

The twins discovered that Wilbur created music, and worked part time at the supermarket in town, obviously he was still in school too. The same school that Tommy and Tubbo would be going to as soon as they were comfortable enough. Techno was in his first year of college, he was 17 and was majoring in English. He didn’t know what he wanted to do when he grew up and one of his favourite hobbies was playing video games.

Soon enough, the plates were clear of food and the family took their dishes in the kitchen and placed them in the sink to be washed later, before they all migrated towards the lounge to watch some television and talk to each other more.

Phil sat at the edge of the sofa by the armrest, Techno sat beside him, watching the shitty comedy that they had put on tv with curiosity. Wilbur grabbed a cushion and chose to lay down on his back on the floor, his headphones once again over his ears as he closed his eyes and mumbled a song to himself.

They were like that for the rest of the night, laughing at shitty tv shows, joking around with each other and overall just having fun. Soon enough, Tubbo fell asleep curled up into his brother’s side. Tommy was glad that today happened, he finally felt safe, and he knew Tubbo did too, and so, he closed his eyes and fell asleep next to Tubbo, holding his brother close protectively in his peaceful sleep. The last thought Tommy had was of safety, a safety that he hadn’t felt in a long time, and he was happy that he could be safe with Tubbo. As long as he was with his Tubbo, Tommy always felt happy.


	4. Nightmares

Tommy woke up to someone softly shaking him, he opened his eyes slightly, trying to get them to adjust to the dim light as he tightened his grip on Tubbo and glared fiercely into the darkness.

“Woah hey, calm down Tommy it’s okay, it’s only me, it’s Phil” Phil backed away and held his hands up in a surrender “I’m not going to hurt you or Tubbo” 

Tommy sighed and loosened his grip slightly, looking at Phil questioningly, “I just thought I’d tell you that you two are best off going to your room to sleep, the couch can be uncomfortable and it’s just past midnight. You’re up early later today” Phil whispered.

Tommy nodded and looked down at Tubbo, still sleeping peacefully in his own arms. “Need any help getting up there?” Phil asked, Tommy shook his head. No offence to Phil, but he wasn’t about to let someone who was practically a stranger carry Tubbo.

“Alright then, make sure you’re both careful” Phil left the boys alone as he went upstairs to his own bedroom. 

Tommy sighed and took a deep breath, before lifting Tubbo up bridal-style and carrying him carefully upstairs. He paused at the stop of the stairs as Tubbo stirred, then started moving again once he realised that Tubbo was still asleep. He opened their bedroom door and walked over to Tubbo’s bed, laying him down gently and pulling the covers over him. 

After he made sure that Tubbo was tucked in and safe, Tommy crawled into his own bed and buried himself in the blankets, he wasn’t tired. Or at least he didn’t think he was. Not until he felt his eyes drift shut to the sounds of his own deep breaths. 

Tommy woke up suddenly, unsure of what from, until he heard whimpering coming from the other side of the room. In a flash, he leapt up out of bed and ran towards Tubbo. 

Tubbo was shaking, knees held tight to his chest as tears streamed down his face at rapid speed. He couldn’t concentrate on anything. All he could remember was the pain he once had to endure. He remembers the restless nights, the constant fear of never being safe. He hated feeling like this. He hated that his heart rate rose every time someone made a sudden movement. How he flinched anytime someone was too close. He let out another small whimper, and jumped as he felt arms wrap around him.

“Shhhh Tubbo, it’s okay you’re okay, you’re safe. I’m Tommy, you’re Tubbo and we’re both safe” Tommy whispered, holding onto Tubbo gently, trying to break him out of his thoughts.

“It’s okay, you’re okay. I’m Tommy, you’re Tubbo and we’re both safe” He repeated again, Tubbo clinging tightly to his shirt and letting out choking sobs and small whimpers every now and again.

“You’re okay Tubbo, I’ve got you. I’m Tommy, you’re Tubbo and we’re both safe” Tommy said once more, rocking him and Tubbo back and forth slowly and carefully. 

“T-T-Tommy?” Tubbo stuttered, no longer stuck in his nightmare.

“Yeah it’s me Tubbo, I’m here, I’ve got you, you’re safe” Tommy breathed out a long sigh of relief, thankful that he had woken up in time to help Tubbo through his memories.

“Was it them again?” Tommy asked, wondering who it was that was haunting Tubbo tonight. 

“Y-Yeah, s-sorry T-Tommy” Tubbo replied, voice breaking out into another sob at the end of his sentence. 

“Hey, it’s okay Tubbo, don’t be sorry. I’ve got you, you’re okay, we’re both okay” Tommy kept on repeating the soft words, running his fingers through Tubbo’s hair as the younger boy kept clinging tighter to his brother, burying his head in the other’s chest to cover up a loud sob. 

“It’s okay, you’re okay, we’re both okay.” Tommy repeated once more, still rocking them both back and forth. His words of reassurance calming Tubbo down. “Breathe with me Tubbo, inhale and exhale, you can do it, c’mon, follow the sound of my deep breathing” Tubbo let out a few shaky breaths as his heart rate finally slowed down.

“Thank y-you Tom-Tom” Tubbo whispered, before once again falling asleep, exhausted from the nights events.  
After a few long minutes, Tommy begrudgingly left Tubbo alone in his own bed again, just for a moment or so.

Tommy crept over to their bedroom door and opened it quietly, stepping out into the carpeted hall, he slowly closed the door behind him. His light footsteps padded across the long hallway, he heard snoring coming from two of the rooms, and heard nothing from Techno’s. He didn’t worry about it.

Slowly, one by one Tommy crept down the stairs, thankful that they didn’t creak under his weight. He reached the door to the lounge and slowly opened it, silently walking straight through the lounge and into the kitchen. He ran the tap and got a glass out of the cupboard, getting himself a glass of water. Taking a sip and putting the glass on the side, Tommy closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“Ahem” Tommy jumped as he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Peering around at his surroundings he noticed a silhouette sat at the breakfast bar at the far end of the kitchen. 

“S- sorry?” Tommy whispered, wondering who it could be. “Techno?” He guessed.

“Yeah, it’s me kid, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I’m fine”

“Right, sure. You’re fine and totally not awake at three in the morning”

“Maybe I’m not fine then. But why are you awake at three in the morning, huh!?” Tommy whispered angrily.

“Couldn’t sleep, I never can.” Techno shrugged.

“Oh”. At that response Tommy’s face softened in understanding. Tommy walked over to the breakfast bar and sat next to Techno.

“Can I ask why you don’t sleep?” Tommy wondered, being cautious about the situation.

“I don’t know. Can I ask you the same thing?” Came Techno’s response. 

Tommy let out a short laugh, “Nightmares I guess, memories I don’t want to relive ever again.”

Techno smiled sympathetically. “ I get that too.  
There’s a lot of things that I don’t want to remember”. 

The two shared a nod of understanding. There were few others in the world that could understand the pain that both children went through. Pain that children shouldn’t have to go through in the first place.

Tommy could tell that Techno had also had some bad experiences in his past, that shit was obvious to see if you’ve been through something yourself. Tommy would have pried more into the potential secrets if it was another situation, but instead he decided to keep quiet and not pester. He knew that if it was him, he’d prefer to keep his past and his secrets close to his chest, for no one else to see.

“I should get back to Tubbo, that’s why I came for the water” Tommy muttered, getting out of the chair with no difficulty.

“Okay, you do that.” Techno said in his usual monotone voice, unmoving from the breakfast bar. 

Tommy walked over to grab the water he left on the side, refilling it before heading towards the exit.

“Oh, and Tommy?” Tommy paused when he heard his name, looking back at Techno curiously. “Yeah?” He answered.

“You’re good kids, you and Tubbo, and I can see that you’ve done a damn good job with taking care of the both of you for however long you’ve been alone.” Techno got up and walked towards Tommy, “just remember that you’re not alone anymore, alright? You don’t have to be alone anymore”. Techno smiled softly and ruffled Tommy’s hair before going back to his seat. 

Tommy smiled, a genuine, real smile. Before he headed out the door he gave Techno a nod of thanks. Feeling relieved, Tommy quietly and quickly walked back upstairs, holding his water and making sure he was careful not to spill anything. His eyes scanning every step, he didn’t want to trip up and potentially wake everyone else in the house.

He walked back across the hall and opened the door into his and Tubbo’s shared bedroom, noticing his twin brother was thankfully, still asleep as he crept into bed beside him after placing the water on the desk. He put his arms around Tubbo and held him close, waiting for time to pass until the sun rose. He was glad that he had that talk with Techno, happy that somebody else seemed to understand what it felt like to carry the world on their shoulders.


	5. Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Before this chapter started I just wanted to say thank you to all those who decided to give this fic a try. It’s the first one I’ve ever written and I honestly wasn’t expecting it to get any attention at all 😅 It means a lot to me that some people might actually like my writing, so yeah. Thanks for giving this fic a chance:D This chapter was meant to be out four days ago (yeesh) but I was ill and couldn’t finish it. So as an apology I’m uploading another one (same length) later on today:)

Tommy was lost in thought for a while, as soon as he realised that, the sun had risen and was currently spying through the curtains and Tubbo was wriggling around in Tommy’s arms. Tommy let go of Tubbo and sat up in bed. 

“How’re you feeling Tubbo?” He smiled sympathetically.  
“I’m okay Tom-Tom, thank you.” Tubbo responded sleepily.  
“That’s good, you ready to get up soon?” Just as Tommy asked that he heard a soft set of knocks coming from their bedroom door. Tommy glanced at Tubbo who shrugged. 

“Come in.” Tommy said, raising his voice only slightly, it was still morning after all. Phil opened the door and smiled at the boys, choosing to stand in the doorway instead of walking into the room. 

“Morning lads, get ready to go to the shops with Will, Techno and I, breakfast is downstairs when you’re done, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Phil.” Tommy nodded and gave him a polite smile.

“No problem! I’ll see you boys shortly.” Phil grinned before turning around and closing the door behind him. 

As soon as Phil left, Tommy jumped off of Tubbo’s bed and grabbed their backpacks, rooting through the contents and trying to find some clothes. He finally picked out two pairs of jeans and two plain white t-shirts, it was basic but it was all they had and they were going shopping today anyway so it didn’t matter how boring their outfits were.

Tommy threw Tubbo’s clothes on the bed beside his brother. Tubbo stretched and yawned before saying “Thanks Tom-Tom” as he carried his clothes into to their shared bathroom. Tommy yawned and looked around the room, maybe today they could get more decorative stuff, make the room feel more homely?

Tommy quickly got changed into his clothes for the day, waiting for Tubbo to unlock the bathroom door before going inside to brush his teeth. 

After both boys were ready, they headed downstairs to get breakfast and meet with the others. They walked through the lounge and straight into the kitchen, hearing clattering coming from there. They looked in to see Wilbur with his headphones on, dancing around with pots and pans as he put them away, muttering some lyrics to himself as he moved. 

The twins were suppressing their laughter before Wilbur started singing some song lyrics, humming to himself at first before practically yelling “YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND’S AN ARSEHOLE”.

“PHAHAHA”. Tommy couldn’t take it anymore and was holding his stomach in pain because of his cackling, Tubbo almost mimicking the older twins movements. The laughter only got more exaggerated as Wilbur spun around to face the twins, his mouth a perfect “o” shape as he stood there in shock.

“You saw nothing!” Wilbur stated, quickly regaining composure (like the theatre kid he his) and choosing to hold a frying pan up in the air and point it towards the younger boys, he raised one of his eyebrows for dramatic effect, holding the serious expression for no more than ten seconds before he started laughing too.

Techno appeared in the doorway moments later, only to see three teenagers giggling like schoolgirls and Tommy snorting like.. well.. a pig. 

Techno smiled slightly at the rare scene, glad he caught sight of it before he slowly backed away from the doorway, unnoticed by the laughing teens as he left the kitchen to go to the dining table. 

Eventually the laughter from the three boys calmed down and they all managed to gain enough composure to be able to breathe properly, kind of. 

With grins splitting each of their faces, the lads decided to actually go and get breakfast before they had to set off to the shops. Walking into the dining room, the twins gasped in awe as they noticed the sheer amount of pancakes that were on the table... and the sheer amount that Techno was stuffing his face with because the others weren’t there when he started.

Techno smiled at the boys and waved them over, each of them grabbing a plate with many pancakes and toppings of their choice. All of them laughing and joking with each other as they sat down, enjoying the breakfast and excited for the rest of the day.

Philza walked into the dining room a few minutes later. “Hey boys! I’ve moved a wardrobe and bookshelf into your shared bedroom, I figured you’d need space to put all the new things we get for you today!” Tommy and Tubbo could only nod in response, mouths stuffed with far too much food for them to talk.

Phil laughed at the two before shaking his head “The food isn’t going anywhere guys, you don’t have to eat it all at once”

“It’s tasty though” Tubbo grinned after he had finished his mouthful. 

“Yeah, I’ll have to agree with you on that” Phil smiled before turning away to make sure he had everything ready for today’ “And make sure you clean up after yourselves! I expect you all to be ready in half an hour!”

“Yes Dad!” Got yelled from the two older boys, a quieter “Ok Phil” from the twins.

After breakfast had been eaten, dishes cleaned and packed away. The boys all put on their shoes and the two eldest raced out to the car. Wilbur and Techno both trying to trip each other up as the twins calmly walked behind them, staring at the older teens with strange and bewildered looks across their faces. 

Phil was already in the car, rolling his eyes as he noticed the mischief his sons were trying to cause. “Hurry up boys, the shops will be closed if you two don’t stop fucking around” He scolded lightly as the teens all rushed into the car, Wilbur grumbling angrily as Techno called shotgun. Tommy sat in the backseat behind Phil, Tubbo in between Tommy and Wilbur, Techno smugly smirking as he sat in shotgun. 

“Alright, buckle in! Let’s go.” Phil sighed, this was going to go well... right?

Around half an hour later they arrived at the shopping centre. The teens tumbled out of the car as Phil announced their arrival. 

“Right, first off. Let’s get some clothes for you two, then we can worry about the decorative stuff, aight?” Phil clapped his hands together as the boys nodded in reply. “Let’s go then”.

They walked through the shopping centre for two hours or so, dashing through several clothing stores and laughing along the way. Phil becoming increasingly concerned as Tommy picked out at least twelve of the same white shirts with red sleeves a knowing grin spread wide across his face. After practically begging him to pick some other type of shirt, Phil gave up after Tommy picked the exact same shirt.. but blue, his defence being “Hey! It’s different!” Phil really had no comment against that.

After a third hour of shopping at various clothing stores and getting all the stuff to wear that the boys could possibly need, they all chose to sit down at an average sized Starbucks near the centre of the mall. (A/N: I’m not American but imma just call it a mall)

The family sat at a table of five in the far corner of the Starbucks, patiently passing the time before a polite waitress walked up to them.   
“Can i get you guys anything?” She smiled kindly.

“Uhh yeah, can we get two black coffees, one strawberry milkshake and two chocolate milkshakes please” Phil answered. 

“Sure! Anything else?” She asked as she scribbled down in her notepad, still holding the classic customer service smile on her face. 

“Yeah, four slices of chocolate cake please”

“Alrighty, I’ll go and get those for you now” she nodded as she went back towards the food counter.

“Well boys, we’ve been walking around for awhile so after we eat, we can either continue shopping but for more decorative stuff, or we can just head home, you can unpack your clothes and we’ll get all the decorative stuff another day.” Phil looked at the twins as they decided amongst each other. 

“Can we go to your house after we eat please” Tommy was exhausted, walking around more was effort and energy that he didn’t have at this current point in time. 

“Yeah sure, we can do that! No problem!” Phil smiled as the waitress walked over with the cake slices and drinks on two separate trays.

Phil passed the chocolate milkshakes to Tommy and Tubbo, giving the strawberry one to Wilbur and handing Techno his black coffee. Receiving thankful and enthusiastic shouts from the younger three, and a silent nod from his eldest. They passed out the cake slices and all dug into their food, discussing various topics and smiling the whole time

As they were finishing their drinks and Phil was getting ready to pay, Tubbo was pulling pained faces and looked quite pale, staring at a random spot in the centre of the mall as though he was stuck in a trance. Tommy noticed this immediately and looked around at what caused his brother to act this way, his eyes widened as they made contact with a familiar face from his past.


	6. The aftermath.

“We’re just gonna go to the bathroom, we’ll meet you back here in a few” Tommy said, quickly getting out of his chair and pulling Tubbo up with him.

“Okay boys, be safe” Philza nodded worriedly as he let the boys leave.

Tommy grabbed Tubbo’s hand and rushed them both towards the nearest bathroom, not having to worry about bumping into people as the mall was less busy than usual. Closing the door behind them, Tommy gripped Tubbo’s shoulders and shook him slightly, “Hey, big T! You okay?” 

No response. 

“C’mon, come back to me Tubster, you there?” Tommy hugged Tubbo, holding him close as he started shaking.

“don’t do this to me now Tubbo, please don’t do this to me now” Tommy begged as he felt tears prick his eyes. Continuing to hold on to Tubbo, refusing to let him go until he broke from this trance.

“T-Tom-Tommy” Tubbo whispered minutes later, voice breaking as his eyes darted around to meet his older brothers. “I don’t wanna g-go b-back Tommy, I-I don’t wanna go back t-there, p-please T-Tommy”

“I’m not gonna let him take you Tubbo, you’re not going back there, neither am I. We’re sticking together now. You and me. Always.” Tommy reassured, holding onto his younger brother as his breathing pattern turned irregular and more panicky.

“I c-can’t do this anymore T-Tommy, what if- what if Phil actually doesn’t l-like us, w-what if we don’t m-matter to them and they’re j-just pretending becau-because they fee-feel sorry for us? What if he stops pretending and g-gives us back to them, Tommy?”

Tommy’s eyes widened as Tubbo expressed his fears out loud for all to hear. “That’s not gonna happen Tubbo. They’re not pretending. Listen to me. They care about us, okay? Phil, Techno, Wilbur, they all care about us! They’re not gonna leave us, they’re not gonna make us go back there Tubbo. Trust me, please trust me on this”

“How do y-you know that T-Tommy?” 

“I just do, Tubbo. Please believe me” 

Tubbo looked up at his brother and nodded. Tommy wouldn’t lie to him. 

“Okay. You ready to go back out there to Phil and the others?”

“Y-yeah sure.” Tubbo wriggled out of Tommy’s grip and went towards the sink, splashing his face with cold water before grimacing at his still teary-eyed reflection.

“They won’t ask if we tell them we don’t want to talk about it Tubbo, I’ll tell them off, come on”

“Yeah, okay.” Tubbo took a deep breath before grabbing Tommy’s hand as they left the bathroom. 

Walking back through the mall, Tommy got halfway towards the Starbucks before he heard a panicked yelp from behind him and was yanked backwards. Spinning around suddenly he saw a large, angry looking man, over six feet tall, gripping Tubbo’s wrist tightly.

“TOMMY!” Tubbo’s eyes were wide with pure fear as he struggled against the man.  
Tommy grabbed Tubbo’s other hand and pulled him back, “GET OFF HIM YOU DICKHEAD!” Tommy screamed, gaining attention from the people around them as they watched the scene, too scared to help. 

Tubbo was yelling for Tommy, his face bright red and screwed up as he reached for his older brother, uncaring about the pain in the both of his arms as Tommy held on. 

Split seconds later, the pain in his arms disappeared and he fell into his brothers arms, eyes closing slowly as he blacked out. 

Tommy caught his brother in his arms and sunk to the ground, ears ringing as he blocked out the noise surrounding him. He scrunched up his eyes and kept his arms around Tubbo, refusing to acknowledge what was going on in the background.

“Tommy, it’s okay- can you hear me Tommy?” He heard a familiar voice and slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the bright light.

Techno was knelt in front of him, hands hesitantly held out towards the twins, afraid of getting any closer than he already was. Tommy looked at Techno with wide eyes and slowly nodded for him to come closer, noticing Phil and Wilbur stood behind Techno, shielding the boys from the crowd and seemingly conversing with someone.

Techno slowly shuffled over to Tommy and Tubbo. Wrapping his arms protectively around them both. Tubbo still blacked out as Tommy sobbed. 

“I’ve got you boys.”

He looked at Tommy for reassurance, receiving a nod as he then gently picked Tubbo up, carrying him bridal style.  
“Wanna get on my back Tom?” 

Tommy nodded and took the piggyback offer (A/N: haha piggyback, get it? Ok I’ll stop, sorry -_-) holding tightly onto Techno. He saw his past abuser on the ground, blood covering his face. Tommy didn’t want to look, so he buried his head in Techno’s shirt.

Techno made eye contact with Wilbur and Phil, who were talking to security. “Let’s go” he mouthed, gesturing towards the two boys he was carrying. Phil nodded and dragged Wilbur with him as they stood on either side of Techno. All of them walking out at a comfortable pace towards the car, no words were spoken.

Halfway through the walk, Tommy lifted his head back up, wincing slightly at the pain the sudden movement caused. He glanced around and saw Wilbur, who looked pissed off as all hell and Phil, who looked like he was about to murder somebody.

The family finally reached the car, Wilbur opening the back door to let Techno carefully place a still passed out Tubbo on one of the back seats. Tommy then jumped off his back and moved to sit beside Tubbo, holding him gently as the rest of them got in the car.

The drive back was tense. The atmosphere thick with an unnerving silence that put Tommy on the edge of his seat. They weren’t going to kick him and Tubbo out, were they? He felt the happiest he’d been in a long time since staying with these people. Surely, they weren’t going to abandon them. They’re not like everybody else, are they?

The car slowed to a stop outside the house, and everybody got out, Tommy carrying Tubbo again, the tense silence still prominent even outside the car. They walked inside after Phil unlocked the door. Tommy carried Tubbo upstairs to their room, and placed him on the bed before going back downstairs.

He walked into the lounge to see Wilbur sat on the couch, Philza pacing silently and Techno stood menacingly in the corner of the room. Philza looked up at him as he walked in, and gestured towards the sofa, Tommy sat down, fiddling with his fingers nervously.

“What was that” Phil said furiously, keeping his voice low, so he didn’t disturb Tubbo.

“what was what!?” Tommy replied, immediately on defence.

“Tommy- we- we can’t keep going around in circles all the time, I get it! I get that you don’t want to tell us about your past, but we have to know what just happened!” Phil sighed frustratedly.

“I don’t want to tell you anything” Tommy seethed, glaring at Phil with what, on the surface looked like hatred. But Techno saw what was really there. He recognised the underlying fear and anxiety that this kid was trying to hide. He recognised what these boys had gone through, and he was beyond pissed off at the world for it.

Phil backed away from Tommy in surrender, hands up in the air to show he wasn’t there to start something. “I just need one piece of information from you Tommy, please. I’m trying to help you”

“I SAID I DON’T WANT TO TELL YOU, FUCK OFF” Tommy yelled, pissed off at the world.

“You don’t have to tell me everything! Just one thing Tommy! Please!” Phil begged, desperate to protect his boys.

“I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU!”

“THAT’S WHY I’M TRYING TO GET TO KNOW YOU” 

“WELL STOP IT! YOU’RE NOT MY DAD! I DON’T WANT YOUR FUCKING HELP”

Tommy glared at Phil, challenging him. The silence was tense for a long while before Phil threw his arms straight up in the air with exhaustion, stopping when he saw Tommy flinch and step back.

“Don’t hurt me, please I’m sorry” He whispered in a small, broken voice. Arms crossed over his face defensively.

“Oh- Tommy I’m not going to hurt you, I’d never” Phil’s heart shattered, broken into a million pieces by Tommy’s words. He stepped towards Tommy carefully, before changing his mind and taking a step back. He didn’t want his son to be afraid of him.

Techno walked over to Tommy and held his arms out, Tommy couldn’t see him. He moved his foot so that it gently tapped Tommy’s shoe, the younger boy stepped back immediately, before cautiously lowering his arms slightly.

“You- you aren’t going to hurt me?” Tommy whispered, eyes red, tears threatening to fall.

“You’re safe now” Techno said quietly, a small, sincere smile could be seen on his face.  
Tommy let his tears flow freely and he collapsed into his older brothers arms. 

“Thank you” he muttered, before the world went dark.


	7. The Past

Techno froze as Tommy fell into his arms. He wasn’t used to human contact, or interaction with other humans in general and he had no idea what to do in a situation like this. He was even surprised at himself with his actions, surprised that he himself wasn’t afraid to be near someone. He held Tommy tightly and took a deep breath, eyes closed for a few seconds before he relaxed his grip slightly. 

He looked back towards Phil and Wilbur. Phil had his head in his hands and was deathly silent. Wilbur had a panicked look in his eyes, Techno could tell that he didn’t want to be a part of the aftermath in this situation. He sighed and gestured towards Wilbur, indicating that he should follow as he carried Tommy upstairs.

Techno carefully held on to Tommy all the way upstairs, his footsteps completely silent whilst Wilbur’s thudded not so quietly behind him. Techno rolled his eyes at his brothers behaviour, typical. No consideration for the sleeping teens whatsoever.

As they reached the end of the hall, Wilbur opened the door to the twins room for Techno, who walked into the room and stood in the middle. Debating with himself for a minute or two before eventually deciding to place Tommy on Tubbo’s bed instead of his own. He guessed they would both prefer waking up with some sense of familiarity to their surroundings. 

Techno threw a blanket over the top of the twins, double checking that they were both okay before he turned around and walked out of the room and into the hallway. Coming face to face with his younger brother, Techno quietly shut the twins’ bedroom door before sighing heavily.

“I know you don’t want to deal with dad right now. So stay in your room, keep the door open and listen out for the twins, they’ve had a rough day. I’ll deal with Dad.” Techno said, his voice a hushed whisper. Wilbur nodded in response as Techno put his arms around the younger. 

“Thanks Will, I know things have been rough recently. I’m glad you’re here, I know I’ve been a bit snappy and I’m sorry for that. You know how it is though”

“No problem Tech, you know you can tell me anything right? You don’t have to keep everything to yourself. I know I’m an arsehole but I do care about you Tech.”Wilbur said, hugging him back. 

“I know”

Techno smiled sincerely and let go of his brother, walking downstairs as he left Wilbur in the hallway.

Wilbur stood there for a minute or so more, staring at the stairs with the slightest smile on his face. Moments like that didn’t happen often, or at all really. Techno wasn’t a very affectionate person and he preferred to keep to himself. He was used to being alone and so it just stuck with him. So, Wilbur turned around to go into his room, leaving his door open and keeping an ear out for the twins, just as Techno asked. He was thankful that he had Techno for an older brother, more than he cared to admit.

Techno silently headed downstairs, pausing at the closed door that opened into the lounge to take a deep inhale. He opened the door quietly and stepped inside, making sure the door closed just as quietly behind him.

He glanced around the lounge, the dim light being easy to adjust to for someone so used to sitting in darkness. He noticed a silhouetted figure speedily pacing the length of the deathly silent room, footsteps as quiet as they could be.

“Dad?” Techno’s monotone voice was cautious and low as he analysed the situation and the best way for him to never leave his room or have to speak to people again after this. 

Phil stopped pacing and stood still in the middle of the lounge, one hand massaging his temple, which was no doubt aching with a painful headache after everything that happened today. After a few moments of stiff silence, Phil spoke out, his voice awfully quiet and difficult to hear even in the soundless room.

“I’m a bad parent, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re not”

“You saw what happened, Tech.”

“Yeah I did, that’s why I know you’re not a bad parent”

Phil sighed heavily and sat on the couch putting his head in his hands. Techno moved over to sit beside him.

“I shouldn’t have raised my voice-“

“You were worried about him, you didn’t realise”

“I should have realised”

“You couldn’t have”

“I could have, I should have recognised it from the way he acted Techno, from the way they both acted.”

“You couldn’t have known dad, don’t blame yourself”

“I had no excuse not to know. They acted the same way you did and still do sometimes”

Techno flinched away for a second, eye twitching as painful memories from the past threatened to creep out from the deep dungeon inside his mind.

“Sorry Tech, that was uncalled for and unnecessary. I didn’t mean to say it. I shouldn’t be taking this out on you.”

Techno internally sighed.  
“Dad- you’re not a bad parent because you made one mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. The twins have had a shit day and clearly it brought up memories that they didn’t want to relive”

“I shouldn’t have pressured him to say something”

“You were only trying to help”

“Yeah- and what a great fucking job I did of that”

“Dad- don’t-“

“You saw his face Techno. He was terrified. Of- of me. He was scared of me Tech, I made him scared of me” Phil lifted his head out of his hands to meet his eldest’s piercing gaze. His eyes were red and puffy, holding every painful emotion possible.

Techno looked at his father, his brain frantically searching for all the possible words he could say in response. After a few moments of silence he sighed and got up, Phil watching him as he paced up and down the room quietly.

Techno stopped pacing after a minute, pausing directly across from Phil. He waited for a few more moments before saying anything, letting the prominent silence enclose around them before he spoke.

“I- I was afraid too, Dad” 

Phil looked up at Techno, curiosity causing him to wonder where this conversation was going, the pain he was currently feeling forcing him to relive the heartbreaking memories from when Techno was young.

“You remember the first time you found me?” Techno continued, determined to speak about his past even though it was one of his greatest fears. Phil nodded.

“I was ten, ten years old. When you found me in that alley in the middle of autumn. I hadn’t eaten in a week, couldn’t remember the last time I drank water” Techno paused and took a deep breath. “The clothes I wore were simple, plain and torn. Not suitable for winter.”

“I never told you why I was out there. Or how I got there in the first place, you didn’t ask, you never questioned it. Saying you went down that alley because of a ‘gut feeling’. Heh, what luck that must’ve been.” Techno shook his head with a sigh.

“I ran away from you the first time, I was never one to trust strangers. You never chased after me though” 

“I didn’t want to scare you away” Phil stated softly, bewildered by Techno’s words.

“You came back though. Every day after that. You came back to the alley. You told me your name and eventually I stopped running away. We’d sit and talk, well, you’d talk and I’d listen. You never came too close to me, always staying at a far enough distance, letting me know I had the chance to escape and run again if I wanted to”

“You finally told me your name” Phil smiled, remembering the feeling of accomplishment that he’d felt at the time.

“I did” Techno smiled back. “It was getting closer to winter, and I, being an intellectual, trusted you enough for you to take me to your house. To take me home”  
Techno continued on his story, pausing every now and then to reminisce the memories of his past, both good and bad.

“It wasn’t perfect, living here. It wasn’t perfect at all. But it was the right place for me to be. Being here helped me heal, Dad. You, helped me heal.” Techno looked at Phil with wide eyes, desperate to prove his point. “You and Wilbur and every opportunity you gave me. You helped me heal because you believed in me. You helped me heal because overtime I learnt that you weren’t gonna hurt me.”

“It took a while, it most definitely did, and I’m nowhere near being 100% trauma-free now and to be honest I don’t think it’s even possible to get there. But I’m closer than I would be if you had just left me in that alley. I don’t flinch anymore at the slightest movement or noise. I don’t have panic attacks when I’m around more than two people. I’m not constantly shaking all the time. I don’t fucking starve myself because I’m too terrified something bad will happen if I eat, or because I feel like I don’t deserve the food I’m given. I don’t do this stuff because I’m not afraid anymore Dad. You helped me overcome those fears”

Techno was partially out of breath by the end of his rant, his vision clouded as his eyes teared up. “Everyone makes mistakes Dad, things will get better with time, trust me” Techno pleaded, sitting back down next to his father.

The room was silent for a few seconds, Techno waiting on Phil’s response.

“Thanks Tech, for talking some sense into your idiot Dad” Phil smiled fondly, putting an arm around his eldest as Techno leaned against his side. “No problem. Just go to sleep tonight, okay? No more worrying about this, at least not until tomorrow. Then you can apologise to Tommy and Tubbo”

“Okay. Thanks again Tech. I love you son, I’m sorry for all this.” Phil got up and ruffled Techno’s hair as he walked past. Techno pretending to be disgusted by the action before leaning into the contact. “Goodnight Techno”

“Night dad” Techno threw him a soft smile as his dad disappeared up the stairs. As he heard the footsteps retreat into the correct room, Techno sighed heavily, thankful that the conversation was over. He sat for a few more minutes, taking comfort in the enveloping silence before he decided it was time for him to go to bed too. Not that he’d sleep. But so long as he wasn’t talking to another human being for at least 12 hours, he figured staying in his room was better than staying down here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas for those of y’all who celebrate it! I wish each and everyone of you good health, best wishes and happy holidays. I don’t really like this chapter but I’m posting it anyway because it’s 1:32am and I’d feel guilty if I didn’t give y’all anything til after Christmas. So here you go I guess, sorry if it sucks:) Love ya! ~ Phoenix <3


	8. Siblings

Techno got up from his place on the sofa, yawning with a sigh as he headed towards the door. He soundlessly walked upstairs, going directly past his room to the end of the hall, waiting outside each door to hear a sound of life, relief spread across his features as he heard snoring coming from his Dad’s room. He heard sleepy mumbling coming from the twins’ room, sleep talking probably, he decided he’d leave them be. He paused outside of Wilbur’s room, the door now closed, he heard quiet melodic strumming coming from inside.

Sighing, Techno knocked gently on the wooden door, walking in as he heard the strumming stop. Wilbur was sat on the floor in the corner of his room, screwed up paper balls strewn all across the bedroom floor. He was in a white tee shirt and plain black pyjama pants, guitar laying gently across his lap. Techno walked over to him and sat down beside him, leaning back against the wall with a huff.

“Any luck?”

Wilbur gave Techno a look of exasperation, before he leant his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

“Hmm”

“That bad, huh?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it. How’d it go with Dad?”

“Eh, it went okay, you know what Dad is like, always worryin’ and stuff.”

“Yeah, I know”

“What’re you struggling with?”

Wilbur huffed, “what am I not struggling with at this point”

“Okay Mr dramatic, lemme know when you’re no longer being a drama Queen” Techno grinned, bumping his shoulder with Wil’s slightly, causing the younger to smile.

“Ohh, I’m being dramatic, I see how it is, I’m obviously the dramatic one” Wilbur rolled his eyes, playing up to the conversation by holding a hand over his heart in mock offence. “You wound me brother, right in the heart” He said, giggling.

“Oh I’m so sorry, how could you ever recover from a wound so severe” Techno pulled a face, trying not to burst out laughing as he watched his brother’s grin grow.

“You’re dumb”

“You’re dumber”

“Wow, great comeback Tech, real original Mr English major”

“Hey! You were the one who thought dumb was an insult”

“Is it not?”

“Shut up. That sounded better in my head”

Wilbur laughed, holding his stomach as he cackled, Techno staring at him with a bizarre look on his face as he watched his brother with slight amusement. After Will’s laughing died down a bit, the boys sat in a comfortable silence, content with the atmosphere that had been created around them.

“Seriously though, what’s up?”

“Nothing, not really anyways, just music stuff”

“What sorta stuff?”

“It’s not important”

“If it’s bugging you then it’s important”

“Pfft, fine. I just feel like every time I try and create something I’m just copying someone else’s song, I just lack originality”

“Will, you are one of the most intelligent, genuine, real and original people I have ever met. Just because you’re struggling now doesn’t mean you can’t do it another day. It’s late anyway, so why don’t you get some sleep?”

“Yeah, I guess so”

“Now go the fuck to sleep, before you look like a zombie”

“Hey! You cannot say that I’M the one with the fucked up sleep schedule here!”

“You do have a fucked up sleep schedule”

“No, I don’t”

“Yes you fucking do!”

“No I don’t! You do!

“Wilbur”

“Yes, Tech?”

“You can’t have a fucked up sleep schedule if you don’t have a sleep schedule” Techno grinned. Laughing as Wilbur groaned and put his head in his hands in disappointment.

“I hate you” he complained, voice muffled behind his hands.

“You don’t”

“I do”

“Don’t”

“Do”

“Don’t”

“Do”

“Do” 

“Don’t- FUCK” Techno laughed as Wilbur fucked up. “Ha! You don’t hate me!”

“Fuck you Technoblade”

“Rude”

“Fuck off” Wilbur lifted his head up, smiling.

“Seriously though, thanks”

“Yeah, I’m awesome I know”

“Alright, now you can fuck off” Will said, playfully shoving Techno.

“Okay okay I’m going I’m going.” Techno said as he got up and walked to the door, half closing it before he paused in the doorframe. “G’night Wilbur”

“Night Tech” Wilbur smiled lightly, happy that his mood had been lifted. Techno nodded in his direction and then closed the door, walking down the hall to his own room.

Opening his door he stepped inside his room, swiftly closing it behind him. He leant his back against the door with a sigh. Today was a long day. He walked over to his desk and booted up his pc, choosing to play Minecraft until the sun rose and staying in his room to avoid social interaction when he heard the rest of the house slowly wake. 

~Tommy & Tubbo POV~

Tubbo shifted around and squinted open his eyes, he was surrounded in warmth. He glanced upwards and noticed he was curled into his brother’s side, Tommy was snoring softly and Tubbo stilled, afraid to move for fear of waking his brother up, Tommy didn’t get enough sleep as it is.

He slowly edged further away from his brother, his skull throbbed with unimaginable pain as he moved. “Fuck” he whispered to himself, squinting his eyes to try and reduce the strain.  
He slowly reached the other side of the bed and got up, careful not to wake his brother. Yawning, he stretched and winced as he heard his bones crack.

Tubbo’s throat was dry. He needed water. But he didn’t want Tommy waking up alone. Even though the boy was currently furthest from awake that a person could be. He chose to go and get some water anyway, he’ll only be quick. 

Walking downstairs quietly he heard quiet mumbling coming from the kitchen, nervous to go in he peeked around the doorframe to observe the scene before him. Wilbur was sat at the breakfast bar in cringey cartoon-like pajamas. His headphones placed over his head as he nodded to a beat that Tubbo couldn’t hear, his hand holding a pencil as he frantically scribbled down lyrics, muttering words that were too fast for Tubbo to understand. 

Tubbo walked in to the room, Wilbur probably wouldn’t notice him anyway. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, uncapping the lid and taking a sip before looking back at Wilbur, who was now staring at him.

“Uh- hi”

“Hey, how’re you feeling” Their voices were barely above a whisper, choosing to keep quiet instead of waking the entire house up.

“I dunno, better than yesterday I suppose, I uh- don’t remember much of what happened though”

Wilbur frowned, giving Tubbo a curious look.

“At least you’re feeling better then”

“Yeah, what’re you working on, anyways?”

“Eh, just a new song, I’m focusing on the lyrics at the moment”

“That’s cool! What instruments do you play?”

“Mainly guitar, I can sing well enough too”

“That’s so cool” Tubbo was looking at Wilbur with bright eyes, he had moved to sit across from him at the breakfast bar, eager to continue this conversation. Wilbur laughed at his enthusiasm.

“I could teach you how to play guitar if you wanted”

“Wait- really?”

“Yeah! If you want to of course.”

“You’d actually teach me?”

“I wouldn’t offer to teach you if I wasn’t going to”

“That’s, a very fair point”

“So, you up for it? Later of course, it’s early in the morning and I’m surprised I’m speaking coherent English, not gonna lie.”

Tubbo laughed in response, “hell yeah I’m up for it”

“Good” Wilbur grinned, Tubbo finding his smile infectious as it spread across both their faces.  
Tubbo laughed again as Wilbur failed to get out of the chair, almost tripping and hitting his head.

“You’re so clumsy”

“No- I was just testing gravity”

“Right, okay sure” Tubbo rolled his eyes and hopped easily off the chair, grabbing his bottle of water once more before heading out of the kitchen. “Thank you Wilbur”

“No problem Tubs, lemme know when you wanna learn, if I’m not busy I can teach” Wilbur smiled and waved goodbye as Tubbo walked out of the kitchen with a smile on his face. ‘What a weird person’ he thought as he drank another sip of water. Wilbur was quite... unique.

Tubbo shook his head fondly and walked all the way back upstairs, opening the door to his shared room and sighing with relief as he heard Tommy’s soft snores. Walking over, he gently placed the bottle of water inn the bedside table, before crawling back into his bed and burying himself under the blanket.

Tommy mumbled in his sleep and put an arm around his brother protectively as Tubbo snuggled closer. Closing his eyes and steadying his breathing, Tubbo’s last thought before drifting off to sleep was ‘Today’s gonna be a shitshow’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh hi! I felt guilty for not updating yesterday like I planned to, so it’s now 3am for me and I’m hoping this chapter isn’t too bad😅 Love you guys<3


	9. An apology.

Yawning loudly, Tommy opened his eyes slowly and glanced around to gather his surroundings, looking for anything remotely familiar and sighing with relief as he noticed Tubbo was in his arms. Half asleep, he poked Tubbo slightly to wake the boy up, laughing quietly at his younger brothers response. 

“Fuck off, I’m sleeping” he mumbled grumpily as he pulled the blanket further over his head.

“But Tubbo” Tommy whined, dragging out the ‘o’. 

“But Tommy” Tubbo responded, mocking his older brother by saying it in the exact same way.

“Please can we get up”

“No”

“Pleaseee”

“No”

“Why not?”

“‘m comfy”

“You can be comfy later”

“I’m comfy now. You don’t know whether or not I’ll be comfy later”

Tommy sighed. Why did he have to have such a difficult sibling. He wracked his brain for a few seconds, searching for something he could say to his twin to make him get up. Smirking as he thought of the perfect sentence.

“I’ll tickle you”

Tubbo jumped up at that comment and leaped off of the bed at lightning speed, comfort immediately forgotten as he caused himself to almost trip up over his own two feet. Making his older brother to laugh quietly at his antics, “I’m up, I’m u-up” Tubbo yawned mid sentence, stretching out his arms before tiredly rubbing his eyes. Opening them fully just to see his older brother smirking at him from the bed.

“Why are you like this” Tubbo questioned once his yawn was over, a fake look of disappointment plastered across his face. Tommy pretended to contemplate his answer for a second, causing Tubbo to raise his eyebrows at his, normally very witty older brother.

“I ask myself that same question every day” he grinned. Tubbo rolled his eyes. “You are the epitome of an annoyance, I hope you know”

“I wouldn’t rather be any other way Tubbo, I am happy to be me because I am awesome and I’m everyone’s favourite. It’s impossible not to love me”

“Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that, you cocky bastard” Tubbo grinned.

“Ouch. C’mon, let’s get ready and shit before you feel the need to insult me some more” Tommy said, hopping off the bed and ruffling Tubbo’s hair. He walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out two sets of pyjamas, he didn’t think they were planning on going anywhere today so why shouldn’t they be as comfortable as possible? 

The boys got dressed and while Tubbo was finishing brushing his teeth, Tommy was stood in front of the bedroom door, mentally preparing himself for what he’ll have to say. He closed his eyes, pleading in his mind for Phil to not hate him or Tubbo. Praying that they could stay here, that Tubbo could stay.

After a few minutes, Tubbo walked out of the bathroom and noticed Tommy was lost in thought. “You okay Tom-Tom?” Tubbo asked, voice laced with concern. Tommy was knocked out of his thoughts as he glanced down at the younger boy, “yeah, I’m okay big T” Tommy smiled, encasing his brother into a quick hug, which Tubbo gladly reciprocated.

Pulling away with a sigh, the twins looked each other in the eye once more before opening their bedroom door and heading out into the hall. They walked past each of the rooms. Phil’s door was slightly open, Wilbur’s too. Techno’s door was still firmly shut, Tommy assumed that the older boy was still in there and that he’d only have to deal with two people when they went downstairs.

The boy’s footsteps made barely any noise on the carpeted floor of the hall. Their feet padded along until they reached the end, the two of them taking a deep breath before descending down the stairs, thankful that they didn’t creak under their collective weight.

They hesitated at the door to the lounge before thinking “fuck it” and entering the room. Phil was sat on the sofa, Wilbur was lying on the floor. (A/N: Lying on the floor is comfy okay? I know I’m not the only one that thinks that.) The television was on some random channel, neither of the two in the room paying attention to it anyway.

Tommy grabbed Tubbo’s hand and pulled him into the room gently, choosing that moment to clear his throat and make his presence known. Philza’s head snapped around to see the two boys, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly upon noticing them. Glancing around, Phil indicated for the boys to sit down on the other sofa. The boys complied.

“I- uh wanted to apologise for what happened yesterday” Phil started, voice laced with guilt and regret. Tommy’s eyes widened- Phil was apologising- to him!?

“It was wrong for me to raise my voice and I didn’t mean to pressure you into saying anything that you weren’t comfortable talking about.” Phil sighed, looking at the twins, “I hope you boys can forgive me”

“I- umm, I thought you would’ve been mad at me” Tommy smiled sheepishly, still confused as to how this wasn’t his fault.

“I’m not mad at you Tommy, you haven’t done anything wrong bud”

“Oh”

Phil then looked at Tubbo, “are you feeling better today?” 

“Oh uhh, yeah. Much better”

“And you, Tommy? You had quite a rough day yesterday too”. 

“ Yeah, I’m fine. Or I will be, I guess”

“Good, good. I’m glad” Phil sighed. “Boys, I’m not gonna pressure you into saying anything. That was a pretty shit thing to do and I’m sorry for that. I just want to let you know that you’re safe here, alright? You don’t have to tell me anything, or at least not until you’re ready, if you ever will be” Phil looked at the twins, hoping to be forgiven. 

Tubbo got up from the sofa he was sat on. Pulling his hand out of his older brother’s light grasp as he walked over to Philza and sat down next to him on the couch, leaning against his side. Phil smiled and was hesitant to out an arm around him, only doing so, when he heard small, quiet sniffles emerging from the other boy.

“Hey, Tubbo its okay. We’re here for you, it’s okay”

Tubbo pulled away to look Phil in the eyes for a second. “Thank you, for caring. It’s- its not something that we’re used to at all” He mumbled, leaning back into Philza’s side, loving the feeling of comfort that he created.

“Of course, I’m always here for my boys and that includes both of you too.” Tommy smiled at Phil’s response, happy with how this morning had turned out. It wasn’t as much of a shitshow as he was expecting really.

“Thank you, Phil.” Tommy whispered quietly. Only just loud enough for Phil to hear.

“C’mon Toms, get over here” Phil grinned, Tommy looking at him confused before sitting at Phil’s over side. Phil raised an eyebrow in question, asking silently if he could put his arm around Tommy too. Tommy nodded, and Phil pulled him close to his chest. Tommy smiled, unused to the feeling of comfort but loving it all the same.

“You don’t need to thank me for caring, you’re my boys. Of course I care” Phil said as the twins each curled up into his side as he leant back against the couch. 

Phil couldn’t see the expressions that were on the boy’s faces, though he could feel the happiness and contentment that radiated off of the two. He was right with his guess of them feeling happy, Tubbo had a small smile displayed across his features, him and Tommy both sharing the same expression. Eyes closed with the feeling of pure safety and comfort. Something that neither boy had felt other than with each other.

The three stayed there for a little while. All of them quite happy with the outcome that the previous conversation had provided for them. None of them were expecting a serious conversation to end in pure contentment and happiness with the way life was at that specific moment in time.

“Well this is really nice and all, but I’m hungry as hell. Can we order pancakes now?” Wilbur questioned from his spot on the floor. Phil sighed in response as the twins looked at him expectantly. “Fine, we can order pancakes” Wilbur grinned, making eye contact with the two younger boys and causing them to smile too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry they this chapter is shorter than usual 😅 hope you all had a Happy New Years:D


	10. Pancakes.. anyone?

Phil got up from his place on the couch and walked to the kitchen, retrieving his phone from the countertop. “Alright, what do you boys want on your pancakes” he questioned, already typing in Wilbur’s usual order of a Nutella and banana pancake as he waited for a response from the other two.

“Lemon and sugar for me please Phil!” Tubbo piped up first, voice chipper at the thought of pancakes.

“Okay, and for you Toms?”

“Um, banana and peanut butter. Thanks”

“No problem” Phil hesitated, after a second thought he chose to add another lemon and sugar pancake for himself and then add a final pancake with only syrup.

“Alright, it should be here in around twenty-five minutes, so just do whatever until then” Phil smiled at the excitement that radiated from the teens, moving back over to sit on the sofa and flicking a random channel on.

The four in the lounge weren’t paying too much attention to the television, instead opting to converse with each other.

“When do you guys reckon you’ll be comfortable enough with going to school? Anytime soon do you think?” Wilbur asked the boys. Him and Techno had both taken a few days off to get to know the twins, and Wilbur missed his friends, even if he called them on discord and played video games with them daily.

“Wow, trying to get rid of us already Will?” Tommy laughed, Wilbur grinning back instantly. 

“Yeah, you’re a right bugger to deal with”

“He knows” Tubbo smiled, joking along with the other two.

“Hey! Tubbo! That was uncalled for! I’m not that annoying!” Tommy sputtered in protest, he looked around to see everyone staring at him in joking disbelief.

“Okay- so maybe I am a bit annoying! But I am the least annoying person I’ve ever met”

“You clearly haven’t met a lot of people” Wilbur grinned, rolling away on the floor as a cushion was targeted towards his head. “oi! You little fucker” he said, laughing as he stayed laying down on the carpet.

“You deserved it” Tommy chuckled in response.

“Dad! Why’s it always me who gets cushions thrown at them”

“Because you deserve it” Phil replied immediately. Causing the entire room to break down in laughter, all of them taking at least a minute to regain their breath, just in time as the doorbell rang. Phil wiped away tears from his eyes and walked to the front door to go and get the pancakes.

Paying the delivery man a tip, Phil thanked him and walked back into the lounge with multiple boxes of food. 

He set them down on the coffee table and opened each one, handing each of them out to the correct person, watching the boys dig in as he took ahold of the last box and headed out of the room. The three teens far too occupied by random conversations and the smell of food to notice.

Phil headed upstairs quietly, stopping outside of Techno’s door and knocking gently, waiting a minute or so before opening the door and slipping inside as silently as possible. His eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room and he scanned it looking for his eldest son, smiling when he saw him.

Techno was curled up in his gaming chair, knees hugged close to his chest. He had a book on the floor next to him, his reading glasses half falling off his face. His mouth was set in a soft smile, hair up in a large, messy bun instead of its usual lengthy braid. He looked peaceful. 

Phil walked over to him, footsteps almost completely soundless as he headed further into the room. He placed the food on the desk beside Techno, picked up the book on the floor and put a bookmark on the opened page before setting the book on the desk too. Phil tried to slowly take Techno’s glasses off, thinking his son was asleep enough to the point where he wouldn’t notice.

He was wrong.

Techno’s eyes snapped open and he instantly grabbed hold of Phil’s wrist tightly as his first instinct, growling slightly at the figure he saw, his brain thinking of every possible outcome that could occur in after this situation.

There were a few tense moments of complete uncomfortable silence, Phil not moving but just raising an eyebrow at his son. Techno’s eyes soon adjusted to the dark and he exhaled with a deep sigh, relaxing his tense muscles. 

He loosened his grip as soon as he recognised the shadowy figure as his own father, letting go of Phil’s wrist he chose instead to wrap his arms around himself protectively. His brain still adjusting to being woken up.

Phil proceeded to take Techno’s glasses off once his son had calmed down, setting them on the desk he moved over to Techno’s bed and grabbed one of the thicker blankets.

He wrapped the blanket around his son, Techno giving him silent, appreciative nod of thanks.

“There’s a pancake there for you if you’re hungry. I’ll leave you be now” Techno nodded again.

“Get some sleep son, come down when you’re ready” The entire conversation was whispered and basically silent, a mutual understanding about not wanting to talk passing through the both of them.

“Love you dad” Techno whispered, voice deep and soft due to him just waking up, nuzzling the blanket to his face sleepily. Phil smiled in response as he walked over to the door, “I love you too Tech”

Phil closed the door behind him, happy with what just happened. Taking a deep breath, he headed back downstairs.

Techno waited in his room until he heard Phil’s light footsteps disappear further down the hall. Lowering the blanket away from his face, he moved his head up to look towards the ceiling, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply, focused on his breathing only. After a minute or so Techno reopened his eyes and glanced around. 

His eyes landed on the plate that was on his desk,his stomach growling as the scent of the pancake hit his nose. Shrugging, he slid his chair over towards the desk and dug in, happy that he had his comfort food. After eating, he rolled his chair away from the desk and back to its original place, curling in on himself and getting comfortable once more before drifting off to sleep.

—

Philza reached the doors outside the lounge and walked straight into the room.. entering utter chaos. 

Tommy was chasing after Wilbur for some unknown reason. Both of them running around in circles, jumping over furniture and laughing their heads off, Tommy holding... a fork?!?!? In his hand and pointing it towards the older teen. Phil glanced around to see Tubbo eating Tommy’s pancake, too invested to notice Phil stood in the doorway.

“Tommy- please- we can talk about this Tommy” Phil glanced back over to the over two to see Wilbur cornered, hands raised in surrender as he eyed the fork in Tommy’s hand warily.

“Wilbur!”

“Tommy”

“You tried to eat my pancake Wilbur!”

“But Tommy-“

“NO! YOU TRIED TO STEAL MY PANCAKE”

Phil glanced away from the two boys to see Tubbo staring directly at him. Slowly picking up a fork, and stealing yet another piece of Tommy’s pancake. His grin wider than the Cheshire Cat himself.

Phil had to stifle a laugh as he looked back towards the other two.

“See, Tommy. About your pancake-“

“You tried to eat it”

“Yes, but I didn’t”

“Then how, when I went to get some water, did I come back to see bites MISSING OUT OF MY PANCAKE!?”

“Well.. you see-“

Wilbur let the silence hang, glancing from Tommy to Tubbo then back again. Tommy looked at Wilbur with confusion in his gaze, before he slowly turned around to look at his twin.

Tubbo was finishing up the last of Tommy’s pancake, licking peanut butter off of his fingers. Oblivious to everyone that was currently staring at him. Phil had a hand over his mouth in the doorway, looking like he was ready to burst with laughter. Wilbur’s lips were pursed tightly and he was holding back a grin.

Tommy was staring directly at Tubbo, a mischievous grin plastered across his face. He crept up behind his younger twin.

“Whatcha doin’ Tubbo”

Tubbo shrieked and fell off the sofa and onto the floor, laughing wildly as Tommy hopped over the top of the sofa and began to tickle him. 

Phil walked up to Wilbur and put an arm around him, father and son both sharing a grin before looking at the twins once more. Wilbur gave his Dad a side-hug before joining in with the two boys on the floor. Tackling Tommy and tickling him, Tubbo joining in once he caught his breath back.

Phil walked around them to clear away all the trays that held the pancakes, throwing them away before sitting on the sofa and turning on the tv. Watching as his boys finally ran out of energy and now each of them laid on the ground. 

Wilbur was the first one down after being double-teamed by the twins, not long after Tommy and Tubbo had exerted all their energy and now laid at an odd angle from where Wilbur was. Legs draped over him and essentially trapping the older teen. 

Phil laughed at the sight and Wilbur pouted, lifting the upper half of his body up slightly.

“Dadddd, can I go back to school yet, pleaseeee. I don’t think I could deal with these two for another full day” Wilbur whined, still grinning as he did so.

“Sure you can Will, you can go back to school tomorrow-“

“YES!”

“AND, if the boys are comfortable enough. Then they can go with you!”

Wilbur huffed and made a loud noise of frustration. (While trying not to grin as the twins cheered)

“So Tubbo and I can go to school tomorrow if we feel like it? You mean that?” Tommy said with pure excitement.

“Of course” Phil grinned in response.


	11. Family

-it’s now evening, don’t judge this time skip-

Tubbo opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the harsh light that came from the tv. He felt warmth radiating from his left side. His face half buried in soft material. Letting his eyes adjust to the light, he waited for a minute or two. 

Once he regained his eyesight he glanced around the room, subconsciously realising that he had, at some point, moved from being on the floor, to being on the couch. He looked up and to his left slightly to see curly brown locks half hidden beneath a maroon coloured beanie.

He shuffled away slightly and realised there was an arm gently placed around his shoulders. Wilbur noticed his movement and looked at the younger boy. “Good afternoon Tubbo” he smiled.

Tubbo smiled back tiredly, snuggling closer into Wilbur’s side and mumbling quietly.

“You okay?” Wilbur asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

“ yeah, m’okay, jus’ wanna sleep”

“Okay, you sleep then Tubbo, I got you”

Tubbo buried his head back into the soft, comfortable mustard-yellow sweatshirt and sighed. This was great.

Tommy was sat on top of the kitchen counter, a glass of orange juice in his hand as he half-listened to the conversation going on around him. He angled his head to peer into the lounge, relaxing a little when he saw Tubbo safely sat with Wilbur.

Re-tuning into the current conversation, he looked at Techno and Phil, eyes widening when he realised the two were staring directly at him.  
“Uh, sorry?” 

“Will you be up for going to school tomorrow Toms?” Phil asked kindly.

Tommy fidgeted on the counter, unsure of his answer. “Well, as long as Tubbo wants to go then yeah”

“Okay, there’s no pressure though. I already had your uniforms sorted, but if you don’t want to go just yet then you don’t have to.”

“Thanks, I’ll see if Tubbo wants to, and if he goes, I go”

“That’s alright then, make sure to let us know”

“I will”

Tommy looked back down at his drink, done with that particular part of the conversation.

“How long before you head back to college, Tech?”

“Two more days, I don’t wanna move into my dorm yet though, so if it’s ‘aight I can stay here for another month or so?”

“Of course, you’re always welcome to stay here”

“Yeah I know” Techno smiled, “imma head to bed anyways, so I’ll see you nerds later”

“Alright, later Tech”

Techno walked out of the room and Phil refocused his attention on the young teenage boy sat on the counter.

“I think it’s best if we all get an early night to be honest Toms, busy day tomorrow and all”

Tommy looked up at him, “yeah that’s fair I guess” He hopped off the counter and strolled into the lounge, finding Tubbo curled into Wilbur’s side, his face half hidden in the sweater.

He smiled, walking over to Tubbo and shaking his shoulder lightly, Wilbur watching him with his own tired eyes.

A quiet “Hmm?” came from the youngest boy. 

“C’mon Tubs, we gotta head up” Tommy held his arms out to Tubbo expectantly.

Tubbo’s eyes were still half shut and he reached out to Tommy, clasping his arms around his brothers neck and clinging on to him tightly. “Carry” he mumbled into Tommy’s shoulder, smiling tiredly as he felt his brother chuckle. Tommy rolled his eyes as he held onto Tubbo, making sure his brother was safe as he carried him upstairs.

He opened the door to their shared bedroom and laid Tubbo down on the bed, tucking him in before getting into the other bed himself and closing his eyes.

-downstairs-

Phil moved over to sit beside Wilbur on the sofa, laughing lightly as his son instinctively leaned into his father’s side. 

“How’s life with you anyways?”

“Eh, pretty good. I’m finally getting the hang of the lyrics of my new song”

“I knew you would”

“Mhm, yeah”

“The twins’ birthday is in two days, any ideas on what you’ll get?”

“Hm, I dunno, if I did I’d probably keep it a surprise until the day”

“You can still tell me though”

“Nope”

“C‘mon Wil, what’s going on in that brain of yours” Phil poked Wilbur’s forehead lightly.

“I ask myself that question everyday”

“Oh my god you’re insufferable”

“So I’ve been told”

Phil laughed and patted Wilbur’s shoulder before getting up off their sofa.

“C’mon, bed now, it’s getting late”

“I don’t wanna move though”

“Well you’re gonna have to move”

“Don’t wanna”

“Wil, move”

“Ugghhhhhhhhh effort”

“Yep. That’s life”

“Why”

“What the fuck do you expect me to answer that with? 42?”

“God you’re so old”

“That’s why I’m in charge”

“Fineeeee I’ll move”

“Great, now let’s go”

They both headed upstairs and into their separate rooms, Wilbur immediately collapsing on his own bed and falling asleep instantly.

Phil closed the door to his own room and switched on his tv, choosing to chill for awhile instead of going straight to sleep.

\- time skip, only like 5 hours -

Tommy was getting pissed off. He couldn’t sleep, and he didn’t know why. He’d been tossing and turning for hours, and it getting closer to morning with every passing minute.

After another few minutes of fidgeting uncomfortably underneath the covers, Tommy decided to go and get a glass of water.

Heading downstairs, he walked into the kitchen soundlessly, grabbing a glass and filling it up.

“Hello”

“WH- JESUS MAN WHAT THE FUCK DUDE!” Tommy whisper-yelled, staring off into the darkness as he held tightly onto his glass of water, for fear of it falling.

Techno raised his eyebrows, unamused with the situation.

“Why you gotta keep on doing that man, Jesus fuck”

“You’re up at three am again”

“No shit”

“Why”

“I don’t know”

“...”

“...”

“Okay”

“That’s your reaction? Just ‘okay’!? The fuck!?”

“Hmm, Yeah”

“...”

“...”

“Why’re you up anyways?”

“Can’t sleep”

“Makes sense”

Techno got up off the barstool and walked towards Tommy, nodding to the younger boy.

“C’mon, I have an idea”

“That’s dangerous”

“Thanks, now come on”

“Fine, Jesus Christ dude”

The two headed through the lounge and up the stairs, Tommy following close behind Techno.

Techno walked into his room and indicated for Tommy to follow. Tommy walked in curiously.

Techno headed over to his closet and grabbed a chair and a cushion, dragging them over to his desk and leaving them at the side of his gaming chair.

He placed the cushion on the new chair before sitting on it, raising his eyebrow at Tommy who was still stood in the doorway.

“I don’t bite”

“You sure?”

“Haha, very funny”

“Thanks” Tommy grinned and walked over to Techno, sitting in the older boy’s gaming chair.

Techno started up his pc, “let’s play some Minecraft”

“...Minecraft?”

Techno looked at Tommy and grinned. “You’ll love it”

Tommy shrugged, “Sure, I don’t think so but I’ll try” he said, hiding a smile.

“Yeah, okay nerd” Techno rolled his eyes as he logged onto a brand new world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter! Sorry it took so long:)  
> The next one is gonna be longer and I didn’t wanna keep y’all waiting so here ya go! Remember to hydrate! Love ya!


	12. First Day.

Stretching his long limbs out around him, Tommy groaned as he felt a few of his bones crack. He opened his eyes and looked around him, yawning quietly. This wasn’t his room. He rubbed his eyes sleepily for a second before it clicked, he must’ve fallen asleep when he was playing- what was it, Minecraft-?Or something like that with Techno.

His eyes were only half focused as he noticed he was lying on what must’ve been Techno’s bed, he saw the dim light of the pc that was half shielded by Techno’s gaming chair. Tommy’s eyes squinted his eyes slightly as he outlined a figure that was sat in Techno’s chair.

He moved his body so that he was comfortably sat on the bed, Techno saw the movement out o the corner of his eye and swivelled his chair around slightly, making direct eye contact with Tommy.

“Morning”

“Morning, uh. Thanks, for letting me stay here last night” Tommy replied sheepishly, an awkward smile displayed on his face as he broke the eye contact. It was too early to deal with this.

Tommy looking down caused him to miss the fond smile and roll of the eyes that Techno had done in response to Tommy’s thanks. 

“You’re best off heading out of here now anyways, no one else is up yet so you can sneak back into your room so as not to worry your brother.”

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck, thinking for a second before nodding tiredly.

“Yeah- I should probably do that”

“Mhm”

Tommy ran his fingers through his hair as he hopped off the bed and speed walked towards the door, turning around to see that Techno was already back playing his game, all focus on the screen in front of him. Tommy smiled and headed out of the door and closed it softly behind him, he walked further down the hall and opened his bedroom door and walked inside. 

He sighed with relief as he noticed Tubbo was still sleeping peacefully he headed into their bathroom and into the shower, he needed to at least look a bit presentable if he was actually going to school today. 

-5 minutes later-

Tubbo woke up and glanced at his alarm clock, 7:35am. Why was it so early. He glanced over to Tommy’s bed and panicked for a split second before he heard the unmistakable sound of running water. He smiled, Tommy had started singing “Hey there Delilah” softly and quietly. Tubbo’s smile grew into a large grin as he laughed and rolled his eyes. His brother was actually pretty good at singing when he wasn’t acting stupid.

A few minutes later, Tommy walked out of the bathroom, shivering slightly at the sudden cold. He glanced at Tubbo to see him staring off into space, a small frown displayed across his soft features, Tommy’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. 

“You okay Tubs?”

Tubbo jumped slightly, shocked at the sudden noise, smiling when he realised it was only Tommy.

“Yeah, I’m okay”

“You up for school today” 

Tubbo perked up at that one, a nervous but excited grin appearing in an instant. 

“Hell yeah”

Tommy smiled at his brother’s excitement. “Alright, I’ll get the uniforms out of the wardrobe, Phil said he ironed them last night and so we just need to make sure we look presentable. So go have a shower, the uniform will be ready by the time you come out.”

Tubbo nodded eagerly, practically leaping off his bed and running to the bathroom, closing the door behind him hurriedly.

Tommy shook his head fondly at his brother’s antics, heading over to the wardrobe he grabbed the two sets of uniform and put his on. 

It was a simple white collard shirt with a black blazer, black pants and black socks. On the blazer the school badge was sewed into the pocket on the right side, the red rose standing out brightly compared to the black. 

He was in the middle of towel-drying his hair when Tubbo emerged from the bathroom, grabbing his school clothes before closing the door once again. He tried not to look at the scars that littered his back as he got dressed, only turning around to face the mirror after he had gotten his shirt on. Drying his hair best he could before he decided to head out again.

A few moments later Tubbo re-emerged out of the bathroom to meet with Tommy, who was now combing his hair to prevent it from becoming uncontrollable fluff.

Tommy finished what he was doing and walked over to Tubbo, ruffling the younger boy’s hair before they both headed out into the hall and to the commotion downstairs. They grabbed the backpacks that were left for them out in the hall on the way.

In the kitchen, Phil was bustling about and Wilbur was sat eating cereal at the breakfast bar head facing downwards and a slight frown on his face, he was wearing the same uniform as the twins but with a black and red tie.

“Good morning boys, cereal or toast” Phil smiled at the two, raising his eyebrows in question.

“Uh cereal please” Tommy said, Tubbo nodding along with him.

“Alright, sit at the breakfast bar, where are your ties?”

“We have ties...?”

Phil sighed, “I’ll go get them in a minute, I knew I’d forgotten something” He said as he gestured for the boys to sit down, which they gladly proceeded to do.

Phil passed a bowl of cereal to each of the boys before he headed out of the room, leaving the teens to their own devices.

“Good morning Wilbur!” Tubbo said, grinning with excitement.

Wilbur looked up at Tubbo slowly, exhaustion as clear on his face as the sun was in the sky. “Morning Tubbo” he said quietly, his sad features making a more pleasant face before he looked back down at his food once more.

Tubbo and Tommy both glanced at each other, concern for the older teen growing but they decided not to push on the topic. Choosing instead to focus on their food. They all finished their breakfast and headed back into the lounge after placing their bowls in the sink.

Phil had reappeared once again and glanced at his watch 8:23. Perfect timing. He handed a red and black tie to Tommy, and another one to Tubbo.

“Wil, here” Phil threw the car keys to his son and indicated for him to unlock the car doors so that they could all get to the school earlier than usual. 

Phil then glanced back towards the twins, raising his eyebrows at the sight of them both. The two of them were stood facing each other, a few steps away. Tubbo was staring down at his tie in confusion and looking and Tommy was twisting his tie in all possible directions. 

Phil tried not to laugh at the sight. Instead he knelt down and showed the two how to tie a tie. Tucking it under their collars as he made sure they looked presentable. He stood back up and looked at the twins, bright gleaming smiles on their youthful faces caused Phil to smile too. He ruffled each of the boys hair before he turned to head outside. 

“C’mon boys, let’s get you two to the school”

Tommy and Tubbo shared another smile, Tubbo practically bouncing up and down with anticipation and excitement. Tommy on the other hand was a bit more hesitant. Yet Tubbo seemed happy, so he’d deal with it for his brother.

~20 minutes later~

The car ride was uneventful and didn’t take too long, soon enough they pulled up to the parking lot of the school building.

Kids of their age and older were hanging around outside, chatting to their selective groups. Some were sat on benches, others hanging on the sides of the fence. A few groups sat on the wall or leant against it, all of them waiting for the school day to start.

Wilbur had called shotgun, and so he was sat in the front passenger seat. He looked more cheerful now, happy that he was back at school. Tommy noticed this and smiled, thankful that Wilbur had cheered up.

“Right boys, Wilbur will wait with you until school starts and I’ll pick you all up today, okay?” Phil said, turning around to face the younger two.

Tubbo and Tommy glanced at each other for a second before smiling. “Yeah, that sounds good Phil” Tubbo grinned along with his older brother.

“Good, off you go then. Be safe!”

At that, Wilbur opened his car door and proceeded to open the back door once he got out. Tubbo immediately hopped out of the car, bouncing with anticipation, Tommy slowly climbed out, rolling his eyes at Tubbo fondly.

Wilbur waved goodbye to Phil and Phil gave the three a reassuring smile before he started the car and was off down the road.

“Right. I’ll introduce you to some of my friends, sound cool?” Wilbur grinned, turning around to see the boys nodding.

“Okay, let’s go then”. The two boys followed Wilbur as he headed towards a small group that was leaning against the far wall. One of the teens there glanced upwards and waved as he noticed Wilbur, who waved back. 

The brunette that noticed them wore a green, slightly oversized hoodie that had a smiley face imprinted on it and he had clout goggles perched on the top of his head. He had a large toothy grin on his face, and was leaning into a taller figure that was wearing a black hoodie and a white mask that covered his face. Kind of weird, Tommy thought. But he wasn’t one to judge. The taller of the two had his arm around the brunette as he seemed to be talking to another teen. 

The three got closer to the group and soon enough everyone noticed their approach.

“Hey Wilbur” The guy with the goggles said, lifting his head up with a quick friendly nod.  
“Who are these two?” He questioned, a conversation between the other three still going on.

“This is Tommy and Tubbo, they’re my broth- uhh, yeah, Dad is fostering them, at the moment” Wil said, stumbling over his words slightly.

“Ah, well. Hello you two, I’m George, this is my boyfriend Dream” George stated, nudging Dream in the ribs slightly. Making the conversation come to a halt and focus on the newcomers instead.

“Sup Wilbur, and you two” The taller teen- Dream- greeted them, “I’m Dream, this is Sapnap” he gestured towards the friend he was having the conversation with. He had jet-black hair and was wearing a white bandana. A white, short sleeved t-shirt was worn over a black long sleeve. He had his arms around a shorter boy, who had curly dirty blond-brown ish hair a polite smile on his face and he was wearing a mismatched coloured hoodie with a green block-like swirl in the centre.

“Hey, I’m Sapnap, or Nick. This is Karl” he nodded down towards the boy in his arms, who responded with a smile and a nod of his own.

“Why do you have a mask on your face” Tommy said suddenly.

“Why not, it’s fun”

“Are you ugly, Dream?” Sapnap and Wilbur both burst out laughing “Tommy!” Wilbur exclaimed, almost keeling over. That boy really didn’t have a filter.

“WHAT- NO!” Dream protested, lightly shoving George away as his boyfriend snickered, he crossed his arms over himself in a sulk.

“Well your boyfriend is laughing, so it must be true”

“No, he’s just mean”

It was silent for a few seconds up until Karl decided to pipe up. “Yeah. He’s definitely ugly” which caused everyone to erupt into another fit of laughter, Dream himself joining in.

Tubbo and Tommy both jumped when they heard the bell ring, signalling that they all had to go inside. A large crowd of people headed towards the main gates, the four lads they just met merging with the crowd, a “See you in class Wilbur” could be heard from one of them.

Wilbur led the twins around to the office entrance, knocking on the door and being welcomed by the secretary.

“Hello Wil! Are these two the boys you were talking about the other week?” 

“Yeah, this is-“

“I’m Tommy! This is my twin brother Tubbo.” Tommy interrupted Wilbur, he could speak for himself.

“Ah, well. Tommy and Tubbo, let’s get your timetables so you can head to class. Sound good” The lady smiled.

“Sounds good Mrs Blake” Wilbur said.

The two boys were handed a sheet of laminated paper that had a timetable for this week on it.

“You’re both in the same first lesson, which is maths. Head down the hall and turn right for the maths section of the school. If you get lost I’m sure Wilbur can show you!” Mrs Blake said before she walked back into her office.

“C’mon you two, let’s go” Wilbur smiled at them both, Tubbo stayed silent, nerves kicking in as Tommy smiled slightly. As Wilbur turned around and started walking, Tommy grabbed ahold of Tubbo’s hand and squeezed it, giving the younger boy a reassuring smile as they followed Wil.

“Okay, we’re here. Room 103” Wilbur gestured towards the classroom before turning towards the younger two. “If you need me at any point during the day, tell the teacher and they’ll probably come get me. You have two lessons after this, and then it’s lunch break, I’ll find you then” He grinned at the younger two, patting them both on the shoulder before setting off to his own class.

The twins both took a deep breath and looked at each other, “you ready?” Tommy asked. “Yeah, think so” Tubbo smiled in response.

Tommy let go of Tubbo’s hand and they both headed towards the closed door. Knocking twice before entering. 

“Uh, hi. I’m Tommy, this is Tubbo, we’re new here” Tommy stated, smiling at the teacher as he stood in the doorway, Tubbo directly behind him.

“Welcome boys! I’m Mrs Smith! You two can go sit at the back left of the class, next to the two boys back there, thank you for joining us” she said before she turned back to her board and started teaching once more.

Tommy looked at Tubbo and shrugged. No one was really paying attention to them as they walked towards the two empty seats at the back of class. They sat down in the seats and looked at the people around them, shoving their backpacks under their chairs, not bothering to get out their stuff. 

There were two people sat next to the twins. One of them had auburn hair and a cap on their head, wearing a black jacket with a rainbow etched across the middle. Their head was laid on the desk, the twins presumed that the random teen was asleep.

The other had half white and half black hair, the boy noticed somebody was looking at him and looked right back at the other. Tommy’s eyes widened as he noticed that the boy had two different eye colours, his left eye was a bright green and his right eye was a deep brown. 

“Hi, I’m Tommy” he whispered. Still bewildered by the boy’s appearance. “I’m Ranboo” the boy whispered back smiling. Tubbo waved at him and introduced himself too, already taking a liking to the other teen.

“Who’s that?” Tubbo questioned, gesturing towards the sleeping stranger.

“Oh that’s Fundy, he’s lazy”

“‘m not lazy, just tired” the boy mumbled, lifting his head up from the space on his desk.

“You are” Ranboo replied, raising his eyebrows at the other teen.

“I hate you”

“I know”

After a few silent moments, the two started snickering at each other, soon enough the twins joined in with the contagious laughter. The four of them trying to contain their laughing and stop it from becoming too loud. They weren’t even aware of what they were laughing at anymore. Tubbo had his head in his hands, shaking with silent laughter, Fundy had collapsed, his head on his desk as he hit his hand onto it, Tommy had thrown his head and chair back and was wheezing, Ranboo was cackling silently, clapping his hands together weakly as he tried to regain composure.

They all calmed down slightly when they noticed the teacher and the rest of the class staring at them, the laughter immediately dispersed and they all sat up suddenly, al concentrating on making sure they didn’t start laughing again. The teacher looked back to her board once more and it was calm for a little while. That was until Tommy turned to his right to see Tubbo trying (and failing) to suppress his quiet giggling and- oh no, Tommy made eye contact with him- Welp.

Tommy slapped a hand over his own mouth as he started giggling too. His eyes started watering and he had started to become light headed due to laughter. Soon enough, Ranboo, who was sat closest to the giggling twins, started to laugh along side them causing Fundy to join in. 

They gained a lot of weird looks for the rest of that class, but were too busy laughing to notice. Eventually, the bell rang to signal that it was time for the next lesson. The four out of breath boys decided to compare timetables. Figuring out that they were all in the same lessons for today. Which they were all extremely happy about. Together, they walked down the hall to their next lesson, chatting and getting to know each other along the way.

-Two hours later-

The last bell before lunch rang, and Fundy had ran out of the classroom Ranboo following close behind, chasing him. Tubbo laughed and grabbed Tommy’s hand, pulling them both so that they followed. The four of them ran down the halls, almost slipping around every corner as they tried to keep up with one another. People moved out of their way swiftly, only raising their eyebrows as a question when they saw the four fly by.

All of a sudden, Fundy skidded to a stop, and with Ranboo right behind him, they both tripped over and landed on the floor beneath somebody’s feet. Tubbo and Tommy both stopped too, out of breath and laughing at the two that were on the floor. Fundy scrambled up and held out a hand to Ranboo, who reached over and snatched the packet of gummies from Fundy’s pocket, popping one in his mouth. Ah, so that’s why they were running.

“You okay?” A voice said, causing Ranboo to whip his head around to see who was talking to them. “Oh, hi Dream, George” He nodded at the two of them, smiling. Brushing himself off from anything that came from the floor. 

“I see you’ve met Tommy and Tubbo”

“Oh- yeah- wait you know them?”

“ Wilbur introduced us to them earlier today” George piped up.

Tommy and Tubbo had finally caught their breath back, Tommy smiling at Dream and waving once, as Tubbo bounded over to Ranboo to stand beside him.

“How do you know George and Dream?” He asked Ranboo, curious.

“Dream is my older brother, and of course I know George because of that” Ranboo smiled. 

“Oh. That’s cool!” George chuckled, the twins were quite random when they wanted to be. 

“Can we go get food now, Ranboo stole my gummies” Fundy was pouting, disappointed that he no longer had ahold of the gummies.

“You stole them from me!” 

“No I didn’t”

“You did”

“Didn’t”

“Did”

“Where’s the proof Ranboo?”

They mock-glared at each other for a solid thirty seconds. 

“I hate you”

“You don’t” Fundy grinned, before he set off walking towards the cafeteria, the rest of the group following close behind.

They reached the cafeteria doors and the couple, (Dream and George) walked ahead to grab one of the corner tables, nobody bothered them as they sat down. Ranboo sat next to Dream, George sat on Dream’s other side. Fundy sat across from Ranboo, the twins sat next to him. 

They all brought out the packed lunches they had and started eating, Wilbur joining them a few minutes later, complaining about some teacher that wouldn’t let them leave class on time. 

Lunch was filled with loud laughter, bad jokes, old stories and many stupid conversations. It started to quieten down a bit until Fundy threw an orange at Ranboo. Who threw it back.

Tommy didn’t know how it escalated so quickly, but now he, Tubbo, Ranboo, Fundy, Wilbur, George and Dream were all sat outside the principal’s office, bits of food could be seen everywhere and quiet giggling could be heard.

The Principal opened his office door and gestured for the seven of them to go inside and sit on a chair each. 

Fundy had his lips pursed together, trying his hardest not to laugh. Ranboo was struggling to grin and so he had his hand half over his mouth. Tommy was grinning so much that even the Cheshire Cat would be jealous.

“Well?” The principal asked, waiting for one of the boys to respond.

No response came from any of them. He sighed.

“Seeing as none of you are going to talk, I’ll do it for you.”

“Dream, George. You two are good students, I expected better than for you to start a food fight in the main hall”

“Wilbur, I can’t say I’m surprised” This caused Wilbur to snicker, trying to cover it up with a cough.

“You two are new, aren’t you?” The principal asked the twins. “Uh, yeah” Tommy responded. The principal sighed and massaged his head. “Well I can’t blame you for following the influence of those older than you” he said. Tubbo and Tommy grinned. They got away with it.

“Last but not least. You two.” Fundy was still trying not to laugh, Ranboo practically clutching his stomach as he tried not to explode with laughter.

“Why do you two always end up in my office” the principal raised his eyebrows, questioning the two. 

“Because, we’re your favourite students?” Fundy said immediately, causing Ranboo and the others to snicker quietly.

The principal sighed once more. “Off you boys go, I’ll let you off this time” Ranboo and Fundy grinned as they both leaped off their chairs and made a break for the door. 

“NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS” the Principal shouted from his desk, not really expecting the two troublemakers to listen. The rest of the group were dismissed with the wave of a hand. They all grabbed their bags and walked out of the office and stood outside for a minute, heading towards the stairwell so that they could get out of school. It ended in five minutes anyway so there was no point in going to their class.

They reached the top of the stairwell, where they noticed Fundy and Ranboo were stood, bickering as per usual. Wilbur barged past them to slide down the bannister. “Do you two ever stop arguing!” He laughed on his way down. Ranboo shrugged and immediately followed, then Fundy, then Tommy and then Tubbo. All of them sliding down the bannister, laughing and whooping as they went.

Dream and George followed behind, opting to take the simple route of the stairs.

“You two act like an old married couple” Tubbo stated once they finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Maybe one day” Dream said, laughing.

“Ew, love, cringe” Ranboo said, sticking his tongue out at his older brother, who ruffled his hair in response.

Just as they reached the main gate, they heard the last bell of the day ring behind them. 

“See you all tomorrow!” Dream shouted at the three. George going with him and Ranboo following his older brother, dragging Fundy along too.

“See ya!” Tubbo shouted, waving at Fundy who was struggling to keep up with the others in the group as he waved back.

The three turned around when they heard a car horn beep at them. “I CALL SHOTGUN” Tubbo had shouted as he ran down the path, practically throwing himself into the passenger seat of the car. Phil looking at him with a confused look on his face as Wilbur and Tommy both got into the backseats, elbowing each other along the way.

Phil didn’t start the car for a few minutes. Letting the silence hang for awhile before turning around, making sure he made eye contact with each of the boys at least once before he said.

“So a food fight, huh.”


	13. Movie night

“So a food fight, huh.”

The car was silent. Wilbur pursed his lips in an attempt to hide the growing smile on his face.  
Tommy and Tubbo were getting more and more worried by the second. Phil had his eyebrows raised, a stern look on his face.

“What if I told you that it was for let’s say, comedic purposes?” Tommy questioned, raising an eyebrow of his own.

“How many people laughed” 

“A lot”

“Did you have fun”

“Yes”

“Do you want to watch movies tonight?”

“Yeah- wait what? Are we not in trouble?”

Phil grinned, “it was fun, wasn’t it?” Tommy nodded. “Then if you two enjoyed yourselves, I don’t care. It’s only a food fight, Wilbur has caused much more trouble than that”

“HEY! I have not!”

“Wilbur you burned down a tree in the school grounds”

“Well yeah but-“

“You stole from the staff room because you wanted cookies”

“But-“

“Do I have to bring up the time you flooded the bathrooms?”

“Well you’ve done it now”

Tommy and Tubbo were giggling, amazed by the amount of trouble that Wilbur had caused for fun.

“Ah least I’m not as bad as techno” Wilbur muttered under his breath.

“Watch it Wilbur” Phil warned his son. Wilbur rolled his eyes and laughed, moving along the topic of the conversation, “can we go now, I’m hungry”

“God do you ever use your manners”

“Sometimes”

Phil sighed and started the car, turning up the radio and shaking his head fondly at his son. 

“Why can’t you just be a normal child” he asked Wilbur.

“Pfft, normal is boring, and to be a normal child you have to have a normal parent”

“Ha ha ha, very funny Wil” Phil rolled his eyes.

“I know, I’m hilarious”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night” Tommy piped in, smiling to himself proudly when he noticed that he made Phil laugh.

“Jokes on you, I don’t sleep” Wilbur poked Tommy in his side jokingly.

“I thought that was Techno” Tommy raised his eyebrows. 

“Yeah Wil, weren’t you asleep on the couch just yesterday?” Phil butted in.

“Since when did it become bully Wilbur day??” 

“Since you were fun to bully” Tubbo called from the front seat.

“Tubbo, you were my favourite, why”

“Eh, fun”

“I hate all of you”

“No movie night for you then!”

“Oh please, I make the best popcorn”

“Only because you learnt it from me” Phil grinned.

Wilbur sulked, “please can I take part in movie night?”

“Well, seeing as you asked so nicely, I don’t see why not” 

Wilbur cheered, Tommy and tubbo joined in and soon they all ended up grinning and joking around with each other until they reached the house.

“Alright boys, let’s go”

Tommy unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed over Wilbur from his place in the middle seat, falling out of the car as he did so, landing on the path.

“What are you doing”

“Getting as far away from you as possible” Tommy grinned, jumping up and brushing himself off.

“Oh really” Wilbur unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Yup” Tommy raised an eyebrow.

“Three, two”

“SHIT” Tommy nearly tripped as he turned around as fast as he could.

Wilbur scrambled out of the car trying to follow Tommy as fast as possible, “ONE” he shouted, smiling as he heard the echo of Tommy’s loud laughter.

Phil watched the two and facepalmed, looking at Tubbo. “Neither of them can open the front door”

“Pfft” Tubbo snickered. “They’re idiots”

“Yep they are, come on, let’s go deal with the idiots” Phil ruffles Tubbo’s hair and got out of the car, the younger twin appearing beside him instantly.

“How was school anyways?” Phil questioned, looking at the young boy as they both walked leisurely toward the front door.

“Eh, it was okay I guess. We met some new people!” 

“That’s good, how’d you find the teachers, were they okay?” 

“Well we got glared at by our maths teacher because we were giggling, so I don’t think she likes us too much” Tubbo frowned, thinking. 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, who did you meet?”

“Uhh, this boy called Ranboo and another boy called Fundy, those were the ones we were laughing with in maths class!”

“Ah, Ranboo as in Dreams younger brother?”

“Yeah! How do you know Dream?”

“He’s a friend of Wilbur’s, Techno doesn’t like him too much though”

“I don’t think Techno likes anyone too much” Tubbo replied, grinning when Phil let out a short laugh.

“Nah, he likes some people, he’s usually a good judge of character”

“Hm, yeah seems like it”

They reached the front door, Phil looked around to try and spot the two troublemakers, laughing when he saw Tommy running around the garden, Wilbur following close behind.

“Boys! Let’s go inside now, c’mon!” He called, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

“LAST ONE INSIDE IS A ROTTEN EGG” Came a yell from the upper window, Phil looking there and giving Techno a nod of thanks as the two mischief makers raced inside after Tubbo. Tommy getting in just before Wilbur, the two of them racing into the lounge, Tubbo already gone.

“Dad’s a rotten egg” Techno smirked from the bottom of the stairs.

“Shouldn’t you be doing an assignment or something?”

“Shouldn’t you be in a retirement home already?”

“Shouldn’t you be nicer to me so then I don’t write you out of my will?”

Techno scoffed “What? You gonna give all your stuff to Wilbur?”

“Probably”

Techno raised his eyebrows quizzically.

“Not, probably not” Phil sighed

Techno grinned cockily, moving forward to lean into Phil, who wrapped his arm half around his son.

“You’re an asshole”

“I’m your favourite”

“That’s highly debatable”

“How”

“Tubbo”

“...”

“...”

“I’m your second favourite”

“If that’s what you wanna think then sure” 

“Bruhhhhhhhh”

Phil let out a short laugh and pulled Techno in close, techno wrapping his arms around the person he was proud to call his father. The two stayed like that for another minute or so, until Phil inwardly sighed as he heard chaos erupting from the kitchen.

The two let go of each other and Techno followed Phil through the lounge. Techno deciding to throw himself onto the sofa and flick through the tv channels whilst Phil continued on through to the kitchen.

Tommy was sat on the countertop, Tubbo sat at the breakfast bar, the two were watching Wilbur, who was stood in the middle of the kitchen, trying (and failing) to juggle three oranges.

Phil was wondering what the noise was he heard before as it seemed the boys were so fascinated by Wilbur’s struggling, that even Tommy had shut up for a minute. That was until Wilbur dropped an orange on the floor, causing the twins to erupt with “BOOO”‘s. Phil rubbed his temple and sighed.

He picked another orange out of the fruit bowl and aimed it directly towards his target. He threw it, still standing in the doorway, a wide grin on his face as it hit perfectly.

“OW! DAD WHAT THE FUCK!” Wilbur exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head and pouting. Meanwhile, Tommy and Tubbo were both laughing at the scene.

“Movie time, come on, all of you” Phil said, nodded. Then walked out of the room to sit on the second sofa, the one not occupied by Techno.

“C’mon Tubbo, let’s go get changed first” Tommy grabbed the sleeve of his brother’s blazer and dragged him out of the room, the two of them running upstairs as fast as humanly possible.

As soon as they got into their shared bedroom they changed out of their uniforms and into comfy pajamas. 

Tubbo had an oversized black-yellow striped top with black pajama pants. Tommy wore one of his red and white sweatshirts, also with black pajama pants.

The two hung their school uniform up and raced downstairs as soon as they were ready. Tommy leapt over the back of the first sofa and landed right on Techno’s outstretched legs.

“OW! Tommy what are you doing”

“Stop being greedy”

“Stop being an irritant and maybe I’ll think about it”

Tommy stuck his tongue out at the older boy, who responded with the same expression.

“What’s an irritant?” Tubbo questioned as he moved to sit on the larger sofa with Phil. 

“An annoying person” Techno said.

“Oh” Tubbo thought about it for a second “yeah that makes sense” 

Phil cackled, Techno grinned, Tommy didn’t look too impressed.

“HEY! I’m not that annoying!” The blond boy protested immediately.

“Well....”

Tommy sulked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Techno lifted his legs up and Tommy almost fell off the sofa, causing everyone in the room (including Tommy) to laugh.

Wilbur walked in the room, wearing his own overly sized yellow sweatshirt as he sat on the sofa with Tubbo and Phil.

“I’ve ordered pizza, so we’ll get that soon” Phil said after the laughing had died down.

“Nice, what film are we watching? Tommy asked.

“What do you boys wanna watch?”

“Hamilton” Wilbur said immediately.

“Have you boys ever watched Hamilton before?”

“Nope” was the response from the two.

“Alright, that’s settled then”

Half an hour into the movie Phil got up to collect the pizza, going back into the lounge to distribute it all.

Throughout the rest of the evening, the family watched, sang along, stuffed their faces and laughed at (and with) each other. Wilbur and Tommy both asking to replay Hercules Mulligan’s rap that was close to the beginning at least seven times before Techno had told them if they sang it once more he’d “chop their knees and shove them in a blender”

Nobody had an answer to that.

Hours later, once the film had finished, everything packed away and the tiredness had settled in, everyone decided it was time to retreat to their bedrooms.

Tubbo and Tommy said goodnight to the others as they entered their room. The time on the digital clock read 23:35. 

The twins both climbed onto Tubbo’s bed, the room was in total darkness aside from the dim light the clock created. 

They sat together in the darkness, staring at the clock, watching it tick by.

“Tommy?”

“Yeah Tubbo?”

“Are we okay now?”

“You and me? Yeah tubs, we’ve always been okay”

Tubbo angled his head to look at his older brother in the face, the dim red light reflecting off his eyes slightly. 

“I like them Tommy. Phil, Wilbur, even Techno. I trust them”

Tommy smiled softly, “I trust them too”

“We’re safe now, right?” Tubbo whispered, looking up at his brother with large, hopeful eyes.

“This- yeah, this is the safest place we can be, we’re with the safest people we can be with”

“Definitely?”

Tommy sighed, “yeah, I think so”

“Hm” Tubbo curled back into his brother’s side, watching the clock once again.

23:58

23:59

00:00

Tommy held Tubbo even tighter, the two boys smiling at the four zeros in front of them with the largest grins possible.

“Happy birthday Tubbo”

“Happy birthday Tom-Tom”

The two boys fell asleep not long after that, Tommy holding Tubbo in his arms, his younger brother clinging onto him, face buried into his chest.

Their breathing was even, their heart rates calm, their minds free of all horrors for tonight.

They were together and for the first time in a long time, they were safe.


	14. Birthday boys!

~2am~

“Ow, why the fuck are you being so clumsy” Techno hissed at Wilbur, who kept on ‘accidentally’ tripping up and making noise.

“It’s dark, I can’t help it! I can’t see anything”

“Then open your eyes!”

“I hate you”

“I have that effect on people, can you pass me the sellotape?” 

“Sure, here” Wilbur threw the tape in the general direction of Techno’s voice, grinning to himself as he heard muffled “ow”

“I said pass it not throw it!”

“Where was I meant to pass it?”

“To me!”

“I can’t see you”

“...you..you just threw a roll of tape directly at my head”

“Oh wait, really? Nice”

“I hate you so much”

“Mhm, seems we both have that effect on people” 

The two boys laughed quietly, still trying to make the least amount of noise possible.

“What the fuck are you two idiots doing?” Came a new voice from the doorway.

“Fucking hell Dad, are you trying to give us a heart attack” Wilbur jumped, his eyes spotting the silhouette leaning against the doorframe.

“He wouldn’t of scared you if you were paying attention” Techno rolled his eyes. He had heard Phil’s footsteps when he started going down the stairs and so he wasn’t as shocked when his Dad appeared in the doorway.

“Thanks for the advice Tech, I’ll be sure to remember that next time.”

“I’m glad”

“I’ll say it again, what are you two doing?”

“Uhhhh, birthday?” Wilbur lifted up several balloons that he had been blowing up the past hour or so.

“No shit, why are you doing it in the dark?”

“So we don’t wake anyone up..?” Wilbur responded once again, Techno was quietly grinning to himself.

“Well that plan worked didn’t it”

“..It could’ve done”

“Did it?”

“No, but you can’t blame it all on me! Techno’s in the dark too”

“Techno can practically see in the dark Wil”

“That’s not even possible”

“Who’s been tripping over everything and making the most noise?”

“...”

“Who’s been the one that keeps injuring themselves on the coffee table and trying not to yell in pain?”

...The room was silent for a few moments while Wilbur pondered on what to say

“Techno”

“Wilbur what the fuck” Techno glared at his brother in fake annoyance.

“Eh, makes sense” Phil shrugged as he turned the lamp on, a grin on his face as he sent a wink towards Wilbur.

“Since when did this get turned around on me!?” Techno threw out his arms in disbelief.

“Since you were enjoying your brothers suffering too much”

“Bruhhhhh”

“Right, so what are you guys doing?” Phil questioned.

“Decorating obviously, are your eyes that bad already?” Wilbur sassed, then yelped as the sellotape was thrown towards him.

“What was that for!?” He glared at his brother.

“If dad helps us then I won’t have to spend as much time with you, be nice” Techno hissed at him.

“My eyes AND ears still work perfectly fine thank you very much”

“Of course Dad, we didn’t say otherwise” Wilbur smiled sweetly, Phil rolled his eyes, why are his kids assholes he wondered. He still loved them though.

Phil walked over to Techno, who was stood by the wall and taping up some colourful bunting. Phil grabbed the other end of the bunting and helped his son tape it up along the walls. Wilbur was sat down on the sofa blowing up balloons and throwing pieces of confetti around everywhere.

The three worked in comfortable silence, all of them decorating for another hour or so before they deemed their creation good enough. After the long hour Phil, Wil and Techno all collapsed on the sofa, exhausted.

“I think we did a pretty good job” Wilbur grinned, proud of himself.

“You popped three balloons Wil” Phil sighed.

“Eh, they were green balloons anyway, nobody likes green balloons”

“Why are you like this” Techno groaned from his place on the sofa.

“Why would I want to be any other way?”

“Because if you were any other way then you’d actually be normal”

“What if I don’t wanna be normal”

“Can you two idiots maybe not have this conversation at 3am?” Phil rubbed his temple, half fed up of the two bickering boys.

“When’s a better time to have this conversa- OW MOTHERFUCKER” Wilbur fell off the sofa from the impact of the pillow that had hit his head.

"You’re gonna wake the twins up you fucking idiot” Techno hissed.

“You shouldn’t of hit me with a cushion then” retorted Wilbur.

Phil clapped his hands together once. “I am not dealing with this shit, shoo, both of you. Upstairs, bed, go now” he began to wave his arms around in a shooing motion, directing the two bickering brothers towards the door.

Wilbur laughed quietly but went upstairs with no fuss whatsoever.

Techno had stayed in the hallway, waiting for Phil to pass him and go up. “You heading out?” Phil questioned, looking towards Techno. He received a nod in response. “Alright, be careful” another nod. Techno grabbed his jacket and the front door keys off the side, giving Phil one last smile before heading out into the early morning.

~4 hours later (it’s now 7am :P)~

Tubbo yawned and stretched his arms out slowly, almost hitting his brother right in the nose.

“Do you mind?” Tommy muttered as he dodged Tubbo’s flying limbs.

“No not really” The younger twin yawned and snuggled closer to his older brother with a soft smile on his face.

Tommy tried to suppress his smile, choosing instead to roll his eyes fondly and shake Tubbo slightly.

“It’s time to get up now Tubs”

“Why though”

“Because I have something for you”

“Fineeee” Tubbo moved off of Tommy and then submerged himself under the bed covers, causing his older brother to sigh.

Tommy reached under the bed and pulled out a small box, shaking Tubbo to get him to uncover his head.

“Happy birthday Tubs” he smiled, handing the box to the younger. Tubbo looked at what was inside and grinned. A small bumblebee pin was placed inside the box, its silver wings shining slightly with intricate patterns going across them.

“Thank you Tommy, wait here a second”  
Tubbo got up and went to the bathroom, walking back out not even a second minute later. He was holding another small box (similar to what Tommy had given him). He passed it to his brother and waited, indicating that he should open it.

Tommy did.

Inside was a red bandana, the name ‘Tommy’ was written on a small tag on the inside of it.  
“I know it’s not that good of a present as yours but-“ Tubbo was interrupted as his older brother threw his arms around him tightly, almost knocking the younger over with the momentum.

“It’s perfect Tubbo, thank you” Tommy whispered, the two boys holding each other in a tight embrace until a light knocking came from the door, “come in” Tommy yawned,breaking apart from Tubbo and waiting for whoever it was to come inside, smiling when he saw it was Phil.

“Heya boys, can I come and talk to you for a sec?”

“Uhh, yeah sure” Tommy fidgeted, he and Tubbo both sat back down on the bed.

Phil walked over and sat on the unoccupied bed, facing the twins. “So, it may not be the best thing, however it is tradition. That if your birthday lands on a school day, then you can choose to go in for half the day, the full day, or none of the day.” Phil explained. Tommy’s jaw dropped.

“What do you mean by half a day?” Tubbo asked.

“So you can go in for the morning, and I’ll say that you have dentist appointments or something and take you out of school. Or you can go in school for the afternoon, and I’ll say that the car wouldn’t start or something”

“Wait really?”

“Mhm, you guys don’t have to choose now, you can have breakfast first”

“Yeah that sounds good” Tommy said, mouth still half agape with shock.

“Alright then, I’ll see you boys in a few”

Phil walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving the twins alone.

The two immediately made eye contact.

“Tommy”

“Tubbo”

“They remembered our birthday Tommy” Tubbo was practically jumping up and down with excitement. 

“Yeah- they actually did” Tommy grinned before he got up and dragged Tubbo with him so they could both get ready for the day, Tubbo pinned his new bumblebee pin to his school blazer, and Tommy wore the bandana around his neck.

Once the boys were ready a few minutes later, they heard another knock on the door. “Come in” Tubbo called.

Wilbur walked into the room, “you two ready”  
The twins nodded. “C’mon then, I want to show you something”

Wilbur turned and walked out of the door, the twins followed him into his room.

“Close your eyes, both of you”

Tommy and Tubbo did as they were asked, waiting for a few seconds as Wilbur shuffled around the room.

“Alright, open them” The two boys gasped at what they saw, two wrapped up presents were laid out on the floor in front of them.

“Tubbo, yours is the one directly in front of you, Tommy yours is the other one” Wilbur sat on his bed and faced the two boys, smiling.

“What are you waiting for? Open them!”

“Are you sure?” Tubbo whispered, shuffling his feet before looking at Wilbur with worried eyes and stopping himself from immediately tearing into the presents.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Wilbur asked, concerned.

“No reason” Tubbo shrugged and hesitantly began to unwrap the present. Tommy now moved to unwrap his as well.

Tubbo paused, staring at his present and then looking at Wilbur. Flicking between the two with wide eyes.

“Are you sure, Wilbur”

“Yes Tubbo, I’m sure” Wilbur smiled softly.

Tubbo finished unwrapping the present and lifted it up. It was an acoustic guitar, similar to the one that Wilbur has. Wilbur then handed him a black guitar pick, engraved on it was his name in fancy lettering.

“Now when I teach you, you can have your own” Wilbur grinned, before looking at Tommy.

Tommy had unwrapped his gift to see a boombox (like a portable stereo). Wilbur handed him two discs. One had purple and white surrounding the centre in an odd pattern, the other had a lime green circle.

“I suggest to not play them now, Dad will go insane if there’s too much noise in the morni-“

Wilbur was cut off by the two boys that ran at him, engulfing him in a tight hug. He laughed.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you” Tubbo was saying, over and over again.

“There’s no need to thank me Tubster, it’s yours and Tommy’s birthday” 

“Yeah, it is. So thank you, this- we’ve never had an actual birthday before” Tommy said, moving back from hugging Wilbur and putting his arm around Tubbo.

“Then we better make this the best birthday you’ve ever had” Wilbur grinned, before shooing them out of the room.

“I’ll take your presents into your room so that you don’t have to carry them around”

“Thanks Wilbur” the two boys called before they headed out, heading towards the stairwell before they were interrupted by Techno.

“Come here, both of you. I wanna give you both something”

The twins walked towards him and followed him into the room.

Tubbo and Tommy raised their eyebrows at each other, more presents, really?

Techno handed them a box like package each. “Open em”

This time the boys didn’t hesitate, or at least, not as much as they did before.

Tommy opened his to see a- a table lamp? He was confused as he read the tag. Before noticing that it was a red lava lamp that was meant to go on a table, (A/N: it’s okay Tommy, nobody can read in the mornings unless it’s fanfiction at 3am.. yes I’m looking at you, reader)

“Holy shit” was Tommy’s reaction, he gave Techno a nod of thanks, grasping by now the fact that the older teen wouldn’t appreciate two boys running at him and hugging him too much.

Tubbo opened his present to see a brand new professional camera, he stared at it in shock.

“Do you like it Tubbo?” Techno asked, thinking he did something wrong.

“This- this is amazing, is it really for me?”

“Yeah, ‘course it is” 

Techno barely had any time to react before Tubbo ran at him and hugged him. He chuckled slightly, ruffling the boys hair before walking towards the door. 

“C’mon then, let’s go get breakfast”

The three headed downstairs and into the lounge, the twins in awe of the decorations that were laid around them.

“Woah” Was Tommy’s first reaction, glancing at everything and taking it all in.. before he smelt the food coming from the kitchen. He looked at Tubbo and grinned before he ran towards the smell of food, practically throwing himself on the breakfast barstool.

“What’s for breakfast da-Phil?” He blurted out in his excitement, only just managing to correct himself. Luckily, if Phil noticed the mess up, he didn’t comment on it.

“French toast! With syrup, strawberries and blueberries, I have a feeling you guys will like it!”

“Hell yeah!” Tubbo yelled as he walked into the kitchen, sitting on the stool next to Tommy.

Phil gave the two their plates of food, both boys munching on it happily. Techno walked in, grabbed a banana and walked back out... strange human.

Tommy and Tubbo finished their breakfast to join the others in the lounge, Wilbur appearing at the doorway, dressed in his uniform.

“You guys wanna go to school today then?”

“Yeah, can we do the half day thing, where we’ll go in school in like an hour or so. Then it’s the afternoon” 

“Yeah sure, oh and- I have these for you”

Phil handed the two boys a rectangular box each. The twins opened them to see a phone... one of the latest models. 

“Now you guys can get ahold of me, Wil or Techno whenever. There’s cases too”

Tubbo’s case was blue with a yellow bee in the centre. Tommy’s was red and had “Big T” written in white in the centre.

“Thank you all so much” Tommy breathed, still in disbelief about everything.

“It’s no problem Toms, this is yours and Tubbo’s day. You both deserve the world.

Tommy didn’t agree to that, but he kept silent anyway, Tubbo deserved the world, he wasn’t gonna ruin his day.

“Now, who’s up for watching films until you gotta go to school?”

“Sounds like a plan!” The family sat on the sofas, each of them having a set seat without realising. Tubbo sat in between Wilbur and Phil on the larger sofa. Techno and Tommy shared the other.

Phil pressed play on a movie and Wilbur groaned when he saw it was the first iron man.

“I fucking hate marvel”

“Stop being such a whiny bitch Wilbur” Tommy jested, sticking his tongue out at the older teen.

“Shut up child” Wilbur retorted jokingly.

“Both of you shut up, the films on” Tubbo interjected, causing Techno to snicker and Phil to roll his eyes.

Finally, they all settled down to watch the film, relaxed and happy that the morning went so well.


	15. Monopoly

Tubbo was terrified. His lungs ached more the longer he ran, hearing the endless shouts and calls of people behind him. His throat was burning and he could taste blood on his tongue. It was getting harder and harder to see, harsh rain had already drenched him even before he started to run. His hair was soaked and kept covering his eyes, he couldn’t stop.

His bare feet caught on a tree root and he was sent tumbling to the ground, letting out a whimper in pain. He hissed as he felt the water droplets sting the fresh wound, shit.

He rose to his feet once again, more of a limp in his step than before as he stumbled through the trees, desperate to escape. Desperate to be safe. Tree branches scratched his arms, plants with thorns scraping his legs. He needed to get out of here.

“TUBBO” he heard someone scream from behind him, he kept his head forward, moving even faster than before.

“TUBBO” came the voice again, not a minute later. Tubbo turned around to see his brother being dragged away by their foster parent, an evil, brown haired middle age man with a large gut.

“TUBBO PLEASE” Tommy screamed, trying his best to wrestle with the man and escape.

“TUBBO DONT COME BACK JUST GO PLEASE” he begged, tears streaming down his face, throat sore from screaming.

“TOMMY NO” Tubbo ran towards his brother, how could he have left him? “TOMMY” he stumbled and fell once again, crashing to the ground, closing his eyes just before the eventual impact-

————————————————————————

Tommy watched as his brother jolted forwards suddenly. Eyes wide and glazed over, chest heaving as tears streaked down his face.

“You’re okay Tubbo” Tommy stated softly, but still loud enough to be heard over his brother’s panicked breaths, his arms were on Tubbos shoulders as his brother shook with fright.

“I’ve got you Tubs, Tommy’s got you” 

Tubbo tried to focus his eyes but ultimately failed as more tears slipped out of them, his breathing still laboured and fast. He could make out three figures and he scrambled to get away, unaware that he was safe.

Tommy reached for him but stopped at the hand on his shoulder, looking behind him to see Phil, kind eyes holding silent worry.  
“Let me try” Phil whispered, Tommy hesitated before nodding, moving out of the way to stand beside Techno.

Techno wrapped his arm around Tommy and gave him a look of reassurance, it was gonna be okay.

Phil sat beside Tubbo, still with distance between them. The younger was in the far corner of the sofa, shaking and glancing around with wide, panicked unfocused eyes.  
He slowly reached over to Tubbo, his movements predictable and deliberate so as not to scare him.  
He slowly encompassed Tubbo in his arms, the younger’s head level with Phil’s heart.

“Hey Tubbo, I’ve got you. It’s me, Phil”  
Phil ran his fingers through Tubbo’s hair gently. “Listen to my heartbeat Tubbo, you’re safe, you’re okay, you’re not alone. We’ve got you, I’ve got you” Phil soothed.

“You’re safe Tubbo, I’m here for you” 

“Try and match my breathing okay? Deep breaths, in and out”

“C’mon, you can do it. I’ve got you son”

Tubbo’s irregular breathing finally slowed to a more normal speed, his small hiccups and whimpers interrupting his breathing as he tried to keep it controlled.

“I’m proud of you Tubbo, I’ve got you” Phil smiled down at the younger boy.

“Do you need anything?” He questioned softly.

“Wat- Water pl- please” Tubbo’s throat was scratchy and he felt exhausted.

Wilbur walked in from the kitchen with a cup of water and passed it to Tubbo, smiling at the younger boy with nothing but care and worry in his eyes. Tubbo sipped the water slowly before putting it down, clinging onto Phil as he glanced around the room.

Tommy was fidgeting in his spot next to Techno who was watching the blond with a fond expression on his face, Wilbur had gone back into the kitchen.

Tubbo made eye contact with Tommy and nodded for him to come closer. His brother immediately kneeling down next to and wrapping his arms around his twin. 

Phil put his arm around Tommy who immediately climbed onto the couch and sat next to him, leaning into his left side as Tubbo stayed seated in Phil’s lap. It ended up in a group hug between Phil and the two boys. Techno had disappeared once Tommy left his side and Wilbur was presumably still in the other room.

After a few quiet minutes of the twins just focusing on Phil’s calm breathing, the comfortable silence broke as Phil glanced at the two boys snuggled into him.

“You wanna talk about it Tubs?” He asked softly. His smile stayed supportive even when Tubbo shook his head to say no, “that’s okay, you can talk to me when you’re ready” 

“I think it’s best if the two of you don’t go to school for the rest of the day, how about you head upstairs, get into some comfier clothes and then we can chill for the rest of the day, yeah?”

Tommy and Tubbo looked at each other before nodding in agreement. “Yeah that sounds good” Tommy replied as he left the comforting bubble of warmth and held out his hand to Tubbo. Tubbo took it and let Tommy lead him upstairs, keeping his head down and staying quiet.

The two entered their bedroom and Tommy immediately wrapped Tubbo in his arms, encasing him in a protective hold. “Nightmare or memory” he whispered, hugging Tubbo tighter. “Both” the younger whispered, burying his face into his brother’s shirt.

Tommy sighed, resting his chin on Tubbo’s head, thinking. “Let’s do what Phil said, yeah? We need chill time, okay”

“Okay” Tubbo murmured, not moving from the embrace. Tommy chuckled lightly, “We’re okay now Tubbo. You’re okay”

“How do you know”

“Because nothing can get to us now Tubbo, nobody can hurt us anymore. As long as we’ve got each other. Always”

“Forever?”

“Forever.”

The two smiled at one another, before deciding to change into more comfortable clothing.

~Meanwhile~

Phil walked into the kitchen to see Wilbur and Techno. Wilbur was already set making hot chocolates and Techno passed his father a glass of water, which was very much appreciated.

“I want to kill whoever hurt them” Techno growled, interrupting the silence.

Wilbur stopped what he was doing to glance at his older brother. “We all do, Tech”

Phil rubbed at his temple and sipped on his drink. “People are fucked up” he sighed heavily.

“Yeah no shit” Techno commented.

“Don’t take your anger out on me Tech. I know you’re pissed off, but I can’t help it”

Techno huffed and the room fell back into silence. Wilbur was the only one making noise as he made the drinks and moved around the kitchen.

“I wish I could’ve helped them sooner” Phil mumbled, guilt plastered across his face.

“At least we can help them now” Was Wilbur’s response. He looked up at his Dad with tired eyes and an empathetic smile. Techno was glaring down at the floor angrily, arms crossed over his chest, fists clenching and unclenching every so often. 

Phil sighed and walked over to Wilbur, hugging him tightly as Wilbur leaned into the touch. “We can help them now Dad. It sucks that they had to go through shit but at least we can prevent them from going through anything else” Phil hummed in response and ruffled Wilbur’s hair, stepping away to see that his eldest had disappeared. What’s new.

Wilbur carried the mugs of hot cocoa into the lounge, placing them on the coffee table and sitting in Techno’s usual spot. 

A minute later the twins appeared in the doorway and went to sit down, staying close to Wilbur instead of going to the other sofa. The two sitting either side of the older teen.

Phil walked in and sat down silently, lost in thought. The room stayed quiet aside from the calm hum of the tv. Each person sipping on their hot chocolate with content.

After a moment Techno entered the room, holding a box. 

He set it down on the coffee table then sat cross-legged on the floor, opening the box and unpacking its contents.

“Techno you never want to play- what are you doing?” Wilbur questioned.

“I’m bored. Would you rather me go upstairs.? Or are you gonna play?” Techno smirked.

The twins had immediately perked up at seeing the game in front of them.

“Oh hell yeah I’m playing” Wilbur laughed before joining Techno on the floor.

“I call dibs on the dog!” Tubbo grinned, sitting on the opposite side from the older teens, dragging Tommy to sit with him.

“IM THE RACECAR” The blond yelled, almost collapsing on top of Tubbo.

“Phil can be the tophat because top hats are old” Wilbur commented, earning a chuckle from his dad as he walked over to join his four children.

“No, I’m the battleship”

“I’m the boot because I’m about to dropkick all of you in this game” Techno grinned, causing Tommy to snicker. “Sure Techno, whatever you say”.

Wilbur picked the cat and placed his piece on the board.

Soon enough, all five of them were completely engaged in the board game. Shouting about going bankrupt, properties and trying to steal each other’s money and go unnoticed.

While the others were focused Phil caught Techno’s eye and smiled. Of course, nothing can distract you like a good competition..

And monopoly can get quite competitive when Wilbur is playing.


	16. THE CAKE

"You didn't HAVE to flip the board Wilbur"Techno sighed, laughing slightly.

"Me? I didn't flip it"

"...I saw you do it with my own two eyes"

"Then you need to see an optician- OW HEY STOP THROWING CUSHIONS AT ME"

"Aw, is poor Wilby a sore loser. You poor thing" Tommy smirked, a smug grin on his face.

"WILBY!? Did you just call me WILBY?"

"No I said Wilbur-"

"Did you just fucking call me Wilby!?"

"I DIDN'T- I DID NOT CALL YOU WILBY"

"You just called me Wilby" Wilbur couldn't stop laughing at this point, seeing Tommy get more and more frustrated by the second had him holding his stomach as he laughed.

"OI DICKHEAD"

"You just called me fucking wilby, are you embarrassed Tommy"

"I DIDN'T CALL YOU WILBY" Tommy yelled, throwing a cushion with so much force he fell off the sofa (where he'd resided when he discovered that pieces of monopoly were flying everywhere) 

Tommy laid on the ground for a solid thirty seconds, the room in complete silence before he started giggling. Everything so much funnier now that he was on the floor.

The giggles became contagious and soon enough even Phil had to lean against the wall to keep himself up. Everyone in the room having to wipe their eyes with smiles on their faces.

"So who won?" Techno grinned after they had all calmed down... he wasn't surprised when two teens turned to glare at him, the only adult facepalming and the youngest suppressing a giggle.

"Well...?" He continued, raising his eyebrows in fake innocence.

"Why are you such a dick"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean Tommy"

"Techno I'm going to break your bedwars win streak" Wilbur glared, a mischievous smile spread across his face.

"You wouldn't dare" Techno reciprocated the look.

"Bet." Was all Wilbur said before he leapt off the ground and raced upstairs, Techno following close behind. 

"WILBUR YOU LITTLE SHIT" was the last thing Phil and the twins heard before Technos door slammed shut.

"So, should we start planning the funeral now?" Tommy questioned.

"Hm...Nah, Wilbur will live out of pure stubbornness"

"True" Tommy stretched out his arms and yawned as he got up off the floor.

"Who's doing cleanup?" Phil asked the twins, who stared at him with wide eyes.

"I think imma go uhh- make sure Wilbur is uhh- still alive- yeah, bye" Tommy jokingly saluted before racing out of the door and up the stairs. Tubbo sat on the floor and started picking up the pieces to the monopoly game, reaching around and gathering all the fake cash that was scattered across the floor.

Phil sighed and knelt down, picking up the pieces with Tubbo. "You can go up Tubbo, I was only joking kiddo" he smiled softly.

Tubbo was about to reply, when the two heard a loud thud and various shouts emerging from Techno's room. The younger shot Phil a small smile before he continued to clean up the monopoly game, "I think I'll pass on doing whatever they're doing"

"Yeah that seems like the best idea"

Once the two had tidied everything away, they sat on the sofa conversing quietly with one another.

"You hungry Tubbo?"

"Kinda, why?"

"Well, seeing as the others are causing chaos upstairs, how's about you and I bake a cake?"

"Can i choose the type of cake?"

"Depends on whether or not you have good taste." Phil grinned, getting up and heading to the kitchen, Tubbo following right behind him..

"Would you say a black forest gateau cake is good taste?" (A/N: Tubbo was talking about this on stream the other day and I haven't had one in ages and can't stop thinking about it^-^) 

"I probably would say that, yes" 

Phil gave Tubbo a fond smile, ruffled The younger boy's hair and then got to work, bustling about the kitchen and getting all the ingredients out, Tubbo helping out eagerly. The two fell into a comfortable silence, occasionally cracking jokes and making a few terrible egg puns. (A/N: I'm hilarious, I know)

Soon enough, they'd finished up making the cake batter, Tubbo trying to dip his finger into the mixture... (can't blame him) as Phil playfully swatted his hand away with a chuckle. He poured the mixture into the cake tin and placed it in the pre-heated oven, sighing once he closed it.

"Now" Phil clapped his hands together turning around to face Tubbo. "We clean up-"

He paused mid sentence as a handful of flour was flung directly into his face. The younger boy laughing at Phil's reaction.. which was a look of pure disbelief. He got worried for a second, and thought Phil was going to be mad at him, or angry, maybe he should apologise? He opened his mouth to say sorry and closed it instantly once he felt cocoa powder hit his lips.

Tubbo grinned mischievously before throwing another handful of flour at Phil and ducking to dodge the larger handful of cocoa powder that was heading his way. The two were laughing and enjoying the chaos that came with their company. Tubbo threw yet another handful of flour at Phil's face before sprinting directly into the lounge, the older chasing after him, both of them had manic grins on their faces. 

Tubbo flung himself onto the sofa, covered nearly head-to-toe in cocoa powder and flour, Phil chased him over to where he was now laying, out of breath and chuckling slightly. The young boy was giggling with adrenaline and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted. He jumped all of a sudden when he felt a tickling feeling from his feet-

"Phil no-" he grinned 

"This is what you get for throwing flour at me Tubbo" Phil matched the look.

Tubbo laughed aloud as he tried to escape, Phil tickling him lightly so as not to accidentally hurt the boy. Tubbo was wriggling around, looking for any way to help him breathe properly, his lungs hurting because of the amount of laughter, his jaw aching because of his cackles.

"Phil please-" Tubbo chortled, he hadn't laughed this hard in a long time and he didn't really want it to end anytime soon. Phil laughed along with him, still making sure not to harm the younger boy.

"Phil please I need air" Tubbo was wheezing, tears leaking out of his eyes from his constant laughter.

"Dad please I can't" He laughed once more, still chuckling even when the tickling stopped- he wondered why it had paused so suddenly.

Phil was staring at the younger boy with wide, near tearful eyes. Tubbo finally caught his breath back, wiped his eyes and looked at Phil, his grin immediately turning into a concerned frown as he noticed the look on Phil's face.

"I'm sorr-" he was about to say before he was engulfed in a tight embrace, his worries immediately washing away as he stayed in Phil's comforting hold, unaware of why the older man was reacting that way.

Phil pulled away from Tubbo and smiled at him fondly, seconds away from saying something before he heard a beep coming from the kitchen.

"THE CAKE" The two shouted, strangely in sync as they leaped off the sofa and raced into the kitchen, the smell of sweet chocolate cake filling the room... the kitchen sides still covered with various ingredients.


	17. Chapter 17

Phil grabbed the oven mitt and pulled the cake out, sighing with content at the sweet smell. He placed it on the kitchen side atop a cooling rack.

Tubbo started cleaning up and packing away all the ingredients, leaving out some for decoration and trying not to be too obvious about the copious amounts of chocolate chips he was sneaking into his mouth.

“Alright, now that the cake is cooling, we should uh, we should probably get changed into clothes that don’t drop piles of flour every time we move” Phil laughed, receiving a smile from Tubbo in return. 

The two walked side by side as they headed upstairs, purposely jostling against one another with smiles on their faces. They paused at the top of the stairs, just outside of Techno’s room, only now realising how quiet it was.

Phil shrugged at Tubbo before peering into the room, almost laughing at the sight. Tommy, Wilbur and Techno were all asleep against the wall, Techno in the middle, Tommy leaning against his shoulder on one side and Wilbur doing the same on his other side.

“That can’t be comfortable” Phil whispered, hearing Tubbo snicker next to him.

“Eh, there are less comfortable places to sleep” Tubbo murmured.

“True- but there’s a bed right there”

“The floor is carpeted”

“But there’s a bed”

“Well they fell asleep on the floor, so it can’t be too uncomfortable” after he said that, Tubbo thought about it for a second. “They’re gonna regret sleeping there when they wake up”

“Yep” Phil chuckled quietly. “C’mon kiddo, we came up here to get changed. 

“Oh- yeah”

The two shared a smile before heading to their separate rooms. Tubbo not hesitating to jump into the warm shower, a few minutes later he changed into black pyjama pants and an oversized yellow sweater.

Tubbo headed back downstairs, the cake was now mostly cooled and Phil was already there, grabbing cherries out of the fridge. “That one of Wilbur’s sweaters?” Phil questioned, his voice calm and quiet.

“Uh yeah, it’s comfortable” Tubbo replied. He wasn’t lying either, sure because of how tall Wilbur was he had to roll up the sleeves, but it was still comfortable. Phil hummed in response, smiling to himself before he went back to the cake.

The two worked with each other, decorating the cake in comfortable silence.

“Tubbo, where did the chocolate chips go” 

“Uhh, I didn’t know we had any?”

“Really? Because I thought I saw you holding the packet earlier” Phil grinned.

“You must’ve been hallucinating then Phil, because I ain’t seen no chocolate chips”

“Tubbo”

“...In my defence, they tasted good”

Phil laughed, “but now we don’t have any chocolate chips for the cake”

“We can just cut up little squares of the chocolate bar”

“I guess that would work” 

Soon enough, the cake was fully decorated and smelled delicious. The two debated on whether or not they should eat some of it now, before deciding that they’d cover it and put it int he fridge and have a... a very healthy breakfast, in the morning with the others.

“It’s late anyways so we should probably head to bed” Phil ruffled Tubbo’s hair, moving past the younger boy to start heading upstairs.

“Yeah” Tubbo yawned, today had been not too eventful but tiring all the same.

A few minutes later Tubbo was wrapped up in blankets in his bed, staring at the digital clock, watching as the minutes went by.

He felt tired, he knew he was tired. Yet he didn’t want to fall asleep, not after what happened a few hours earlier. He sighed before sitting up in his bed, pouting at the nothingness. Tommy was asleep in the other room and Tubbo didn’t want to seem clingy. He sighed again, before getting up and walking across his room and into the hall. He made next to no sound as he was light on his feet and well- just light in general.

He walked along the hall, peering into each room, all of them coated in complete darkness until he got to Phil’s closed door, a dim light emerging from the bottom of it. 

Tubbo took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the close door, “come in” he heard Phil say quietly. He softly pushed open the door and looked inside the room, squinting his eyes slightly at the sudden light.

Once his eyes adjusted he could see Phil laying on his bed, leaning against the headboard. The table lamp on next to him. He had reading glasses on and was holding a book in his hands.

“Hey kiddo, what’s up?” Phil asked, a soft smile on his face.

Tubbo shrugged, looking down and shifting his feet from side to side.

“Can’t sleep?”

Tubbo shook his head, still staring at his feet.

“C’mon then, come here” Phil smiled and patted the spot on the bed next to him, Tubbo looking up to meet his eye before hesitantly walking over to sit where Phil had gestured. He leant back against the headboard and curled his knees tight to his chest.

“Do you know why you can’t sleep?” Phil’s voice was quiet and calming.

Tubbo shrugged again, thinking for a second before he looked at Phil.

“Why me and Tommy?” He whispered, the two keeping their voices low.

“What do you mean?”

“Why’d you pick me and Tommy?”

Phil let out a sigh, he closed his book, took off his glasses and placed them gently on the bedside table. Turning around to face Tubbo once he was done. “Why wouldn’t I pick you and Tommy?”

Tubbo picked at the blanket, chewing his lip as he thought about his answer. “Well, it’s not like we were the youngest in there, or the most polite, there was nothing special about us”

“What makes you think there’s nothing special about you two”

“I dunno, it’s just- *sigh* when someone wants to adopt two kids, we’re not the first pick” Tubbo muttered.

“Why do you think that?”

Tubbo sighed again. “Because it’s me and Tommy. We’re loud, annoying. We’re immature, people say we’re not right in the head, we don’t think before we speak or do things” Tubbo looked at Phil, “We don’t deserve any of this Phil”

“Tubbo I’m going to stop you right there, okay?” Tubbo closed his mouth and nodded.  
“You and Tommy, are none of those things alright?”

“Listen, getting to know you and Tommy over the past few days has been one of the best experiences of my life. I am so, so happy that I’ve been given the opportunity to try and take care of you both, I wouldn’t change it for the world”

“You may see yourself as annoying, but I don’t see you that way, neither does Wilbur or Techno, and that’s because you’re not annoying! You match our chaos, sure. That doesn’t mean you’re annoying”

“You call yourself immature but you’re a kid Tubbo. You’re fourteen years old son, you’re not meant to worry about being immature or loud or annoying. Live your life kiddo, don’t let anyone tell you anything bad about yourself, because it’s just not true, alright?”

“You boys, you two deserve all the good in the world and so, so much more”

“But we-“

“No, no buts. I’m telling you the truth. You and Tommy are two of the most incredible, highly intelligent and hilarious kids I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Do not, bring yourself down Tubbo, and definitely don’t let anyone else do it. Okay?”

Tubbo moved over so that he was curled up next to Phil, sighing softly at the comfort. Phil wrapped his arm around the younger boy and the two basked in each other’s calming silence for a few seconds.

“You know I love you and your brother, right Tubbo?”

Tubbo smiled, his eyelids felt heavy and his breathing was slowed, seconds before falling asleep he replied with “Mhm, I love you too dad”

Phil looked at the younger boy with a fond smile on his face, he leant over slightly to turn the bedside lamp off and grab a blanket, draping it over Tubbo and making sure that he hadn’t woken the younger boy. He sighed once more before falling asleep himself.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t have an update schedule, but I will update this quite frequently. All chapters will be of a similar length and if not then they’ll be longer than usual! This is my first time writing a fic or anything so I hope you like it! Thanks for reading, much love<3


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